New Inlet

New Inlet is an inlet along the Outer Banks of North Carolina joining the Pamlico Sound with the Atlantic Ocean. It had not existed since 1945 before Hurricane Irene re-opened the inlet in 2011.

History

New Inlet first opened around 1738, separating Bodie Island from Hatteras Island. When a hurricane opened Oregon Inlet about 11 miles to the north in 1846, the land between New Inlet and Oregon Inlet became known as Pea Island. New Inlet now separated Hatteras Island from Pea Island.

The opening of the wider Oregon Inlet meant less water flowed through New Inlet, and by 1922 the inlet had closed.

In 1933, the inlet, or at least one nearby, briefly reopened after a strong hurricane, but it closed only a few months later. Pea Island was a contiguous part of Hatteras Island until the passage of Hurricane Irene in August 2011. The storm re-opened New Inlet, once again separating Pea Island from Hatteras Island. The North Carolina Department of Transportation has erected a temporary road bridge on North Carolina Highway 12 spanning New Inlet.