It is also the nearest landmass on the North American mainland to Bermuda, which is about 563 nautical miles (648 mi; 1,043 km) to the east-southeast.

Diamond Shoals, a bank of shifting sand ridges hidden beneath the turbulent sea off Cape Hatteras, has never promised safe passage for ships.

Beach and sound access ramps, campgrounds, nature trails, and lighthouses can be found and explored on all three islands.

Cape Hatteras has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen: Cfa), with long, hot summers, and short, mild winters.

The proximity to water moderates conditions throughout the year, producing cooler summers and warmer winters than inland areas of North Carolina.

As a result of its proximity to water, temperatures above 90 °F (32 °C) are rare, with an average of only 2.3 days annually above 90 °F (32 °C);[6] one or two years out of each decade will not see any 90 °F readings.

[4] Precipitation, mostly in the form of rain, is over 61 inches (1,500 mm) per year, making Cape Hatteras the wettest coastal location in North Carolina.

[citation needed] Due to its exposed position, Cape Hatteras is virtually the highest-risk area for hurricanes and tropical storms along the entire U.S. eastern seaboard.

Cape Hatteras can experience significant wind and/or water damage from tropical systems moving (usually northward or northeastward) near or over North Carolina's Outer Banks, while other areas (i.e. Wilmington, NC or Myrtle Beach and Charleston, SC to the south and Norfolk, VA and Maryland's Eastern Shore to the north) experience much less, minimal or no damage.

The Cape Hatteras area is infamous for being frequently struck by hurricanes that move up the East Coast of the United States.

NC 12, which provides a direct route from Nags Head to Hatteras Island, was washed out when the hurricane created a new inlet.

[15][16] In 1956 the Naval Facility Cape Hatteras, adjacent to the lighthouse, became the eighth of nine shore terminals of the Atlantic Sound Surveillance System (SOSUS) operational for over twenty-six years.