Due to increased wildfire risk, the N.C. Forest Service has issued a ban on all open burning and has canceled all burning permits statewide effective 6 p.m. Saturday, March 28 until further notice.

Under North Carolina law, the ban prohibits all open burning in the affected counties, regardless of whether a permit was previously issued . The issuance of any new permits has also been suspended until the ban is lifted. Anyone violating the burn ban faces a $100 fine plus $183

Sheriff Hammonds would like to make the public aware of several scams that are currently affecting Beaufort County residents. The Beaufort County Sheriff's Office received a report of a scam where a person claiming to be a lawyer told a resident her local church pastor was involved in a crash that injured a pregnant woman and was in jail. The suspect requested $4,500 in cash to get the pastor out of jail and cover the woman's medical expenses. The suspect requested the victim

The Beaufort County Sheriff's Office has received another report of a scam involving parking and toll violations. The scammers are attempting to get victims to scan a QR code to settle unpaid fees. Though this document looks official, it is yet another attempt to scam you out of your hard earned money. Don't take the bait. If you believe you have been the victim of a scam, please report it to your local law enforcement agency.

March 16, 2026 at 08:55 Here is the latest update from the US National Weather Service Newport/Morehead City NC The threat for severe thunderstorms continues today, March 16. This has the potential to be a significant severe weather event. In addition, we have expanded the wind advisory further west for gusty south winds of up to 45-50 mph this afternoon to early evening. Key Messages • Enhanced (Level 3 of 5) risk of severe thunderstorms, with the risk increasing to Moder

Winter weather doesn’t end when the snowfall stops. In fact, some of the most dangerous driving conditions appear after the snow has cleared, when roads look passable but remain unpredictable and hazardous. The North Carolina Department of Transportation continues to clear the roadways in Beaufort County. Primary roadways, such as US17, US264, and NC33 have greatly improved. With that said, most secondary roads are still covered with snow and ice, especially in shaded areas

February 3, 2026 at 14:00 From Beaufort County Emergency Services: Our office would like to provide you all with a brief update on our county’s efforts to recover from our recent winter storm, and share information related to our forecasted weather pattern for the next 10 to 14 days. Current Recovery Efforts Road Clearing • DOT and municipal staff are diligently working to clear our roadways of accumulated snow and ice. Our primary roads (Hwy 264, 17, 33, 32, 92 etc.) are m

As we head into tonight, temperatures are plummeting well below freezing. Any remaining snow from today will refreeze, and black ice will form quickly—especially on bridges, overpasses, elevated roads like the Hwy 17 bypass, and untreated surfaces. Travel will be extremely dangerous tonight and into the early morning hours. If at all possible, stay home and off the roads. If you must travel, go slow, increase following distance, avoid sudden stops/turns, and assume ice is pr

Here is the latest update from Beaufort County Emergency Services. There were no major changes with this morning’s update. Beaufort County is expected to receive between 8 and 12-inch of snow over the next 24 hours and remain below freezing through Monday afternoon with windchills of 15 degrees or less. We encourage everyone to make any last minute preparations, to include trips to the grocery store, hardware store, etc. before noon today as conditions will quickly deterio

Here is the afternoon update from Beaufort County Emergency Services. This afternoon’s update included minor adjustments to snow accumulations, as forecasters continue to try and identify where the heaviest bands of snow will set up. However, most of Beaufort County continues to be included within the 8-to-12-inch forecast range. Again, regardless of these or future adjustments to snowfall totals, we are still expected to receive “Major Impacts” (Treacherous driving conditio

Here is the latest updated from Beaufort County Emergency Services: This morning’s update included minor adjustments to snow accumulations, with Beaufort County forecasted to receive between 8 and 12 inches. However, regardless of these or future adjustments to snowfall totals, we are still expected to receive “Major Impacts” (Dangerous driving conditions, closures, disruptions with normal daily activities, etc.) from this weekend’s winter weather. Expected Hazards to Prepa

January 29, 2026 at 16:39 From Beaufort County Emergency Services: This afternoon’s update continues to indicate “Major Impacts” (Dangerous driving conditions, closures, disruptions with normal daily activities, etc.) from this weekend’s winter weather with Beaufort County currently forecasted to receive 10 and 14 inches of snow. Changes to our previous briefings have been highlighted below. Snowfall Accumulations • Our area is currently forecasted to receive between 10 and

From Beaufort County Emergency Services: This morning’s update transitioned to concerns for “Major Impacts” (Dangerous driving conditions, closures, disruptions with normal daily activities, etc.). It will likely be this afternoon before we receive specific accumulation details. Changes to our previous briefings have been highlighted below. Probabilities of Major Impacts • We now have a 70 to 80% chance of experiencing ““Major Impacts” over the weekend, with a 90 to 100% cha

January 28, 2026 at 17:08 US National Weather Service Newport/Morehead City NC Winter Storm This Weekend For more graphics visit: https://www.weather.gov/media/mhx/LatestBriefing.pdf Tends have been increasing for SIGNIFICANT amounts of snow. This is expected to be a mostly snow event Localized blizzard conditions POSSIBLE along the coast

Here is the latest winter weather update from Beaufort County Emergency Services. There were very minor changes made with this morning’s update. Beaufort County is still forecasted to experience very cold temperatures throughout the day and receive less than 1/8 of an inch of accumulating ice from freezing rain (mostly west of Hwy 17) later tonight. We are encouraging everyone to: Ensure that pets and outside animals have adequate shelter to protect them from today’s cold t

With inclement weather approaching this weekend and into next week, Sheriff Scott Hammonds and the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office would like to remind residents to take extra precautions to protect our most vulnerable — animals, children, and the elderly — as part of our ACE of Hearts Initiative. Animals: Bring pets indoors whenever possible. If it’s too cold for you, it’s too cold for them. Ensure outdoor animals have warm, dry shelter and access to fresh, unfrozen water.

Issued January 15 at 8:18 AM EST by NWS Newport/Morehead City, NC The combination of gusty west-northwesterly winds up to 25 to 30 mph, dry relative humidities of 25 to 30%, and dry fields will increase the fire danger today. Outdoor burning is discouraged. Please refer to your local burn permitting authority on whether you can burn. If you do burn, use extreme caution and ensure fire suppression equipment is readily available.

Issued December 31 at 3:01AM EST by NWS Newport/Morehead City NC The combination of dry fuels and relative humidity around 30 to 35 percent will bring an increased fire danger across eastern North Carolina today. Outdoor burning is discouraged. Please refer to your local burn permitting authority on whether you can burn. If you do burn, use extreme caution and ensure fire suppression equipment is readily available.

Weather Update from Beaufort County Emergency Services: While much of Beaufort Co. could see a mix of rain and snow later today, impactful accumulations will remain to our north and west. However, there is a potential for patches of black ice, especially on our elevated roadways, for late tonight / early tomorrow morning, as any remaining standing water on these surfaces will likely freeze overnight. Forecast details can be found below. Rain & Snow • Our rain chances will i

The Beaufort County Sheriff's Office was made aware on an attempted scam involving people representing themselves as members of the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office. The person begins the conversation stating it as an "Urgent Legal Matter." Then, they present reasons for their call such as unpaid fines, warrant for arrest, fines for missed jury duty, etc. All of these are designed to get the person being called to pay money through various non-traceable means, such as pre-p

Residents of the City of Washington are reminded of the scheduled power outage taking place on Sunday, November 16, 2025, from approximately 12 am until 6 am. The outage is necessary to complete upgrades to the infrastructure. City residents can prepare for the outage by ensuring cellphones are charged and that any medical devices that require power have a backup power source. Those with home alarm systems should ensure they are properly set with the power failure in mind.