Bald Head Island is currently under a Tropical Storm Warning due to approaching Tropical Storm Chantal.
Highlights from the latest NWS Wilmington office briefing (weather.gov/ilm/briefing):
- Tropical Depression Three is now Tropical Storm Chantal with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph.
- Tropical Storm Chantal continues to meander off the Georgia coastline.
- Chantal is forecast to approach the South Carolina coast late tonight.
- TS Chantal will bring a variety of impacts to portions of the area, especially heavy rainfall, dangerous surf, and rough maritime conditions
- Prepare for: potential winds of 39 to 57 mph in the highlighted area. This could cause some downed trees and power outages.
The next NWS briefing is expected at 5:00 p.m. on July 5, 2025.
Village Response
The Village has been in communication with the BHI Club since 7/4 to coordinate and monitor island lagoon levels and the bypass lagoon levels, which are well below normal. Public Services has its stormwater systems ready. Service checks have been completed on the Village’s equipment. Weekend staff are on the island for immediate needs.
Village officials were briefed by Brunswick County Emergency Services and National Weather Service in a meeting earlier today with the County’s partners (municipalities, utilities, agencies, etc.).
Recommendations for Islanders
- Remain alert for updates from the NWS-Wilmington at weather.gov/ilm and find the latest weather briefing at weather.gov/ilm/briefing.
- Tie down and/or store any loose outdoor items that could be propelled by heavy winds/wind gusts.
- Drive safely on the Village wynds as areas will pond up quickly when the heavy rain starts.
- The most severe impacts of this storm will be marine and surf impacts. Check the Bald Head Island Ferry webpage or app for updates on ferry service. At this time, Bald Head Island Transportation, Inc. does not anticipate any suspension of ferry service due to the approaching storm.
- Swimming is not advised due to high rip current risk, which will likely continue through early next week.
- Prepare for potential power outages. Please report your outage to Duke Energy. You can also view the area outages (populated by customer reports) on the outage map. Duke Energy contact info and outage map info HERE.
- Rainfall amounts could increase based on the track/speed of the storm. If your property has flooded in the past, make preparations for potential flooding.
- There is a low-end risk of tornadoes, especially this afternoon and tonight. Safety info HERE.
The Village will be regularly updating its Severe Weather Event webpage throughout this event and will share any relevant information on its social media channels. Please check the webpage (HERE) for the latest updates.