North Carolina beaches thin out ahead of tropical weather

Associated Press

RODANTHE, N.C.

Crowds thinned Tuesday on the beaches of North Carolina’s Outer Banks ahead of a tropical weather system that threatened to bring strong winds and heavy rains that could flood low-lying areas.

Elsewhere, a powerful hurricane threatened to pass “dangerously close” to Hawaii, and another tropical depression churned in Gulf of Mexico waters with the potential to bring rain and wind to Florida. Forecasters have issued a hurricane watch for parts of Florida stretching from northwest of Tampa to an area east of Panama City.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami issued the watch for an area of the Gulf coast from the Anclote River to Indian Pass.