HAVELOCK -- Recent weather changes have caused some services on the Crystal Coast to shut down for a couple of days.
"About 390,000 passengers a year and about 200,000 vehicles a year," said Tim Hass, communications officer for North Carolina Ferry Division.
The Cherry Branch-Minnesott Beach Ferry brings commuters across the Neuse River to their destinations.
"We have a lot of civil service workers. We have a lot of contractors. People going to school," said Harold Gray, Cherry Branch Ferry Service mate.
But when the weather takes a turn, operations shut down.
"When the river is too high...the ramps that people load their cars onto the ferry are also too high and it's unsafe to actually load the cars onto the ferry when the river is that high," said Hass.
"If we have a lot of wind and it looks like it's a safety factor, then we may suspend operations. If the tide is too high to where the ferry can't get onto the ramp or if vehicles are dragging when they get on...that will stop us really quick," said Gray.
It causes commuters to have to choose a different route.
"It's a longer drive around, but I think people understand that weather is out of our control and when the river is too high...it's safer for them to drive around then just try to load their cars on the ferry," said Hass.
Checking out Twitter can also help with updates.
"We have a Twitter feed that most people know about. We usually post our schedule updates and interruptions on the Twitter feed. That Twitter feed also gets fed onto our website," said Hass.
"We're here for the public. We're going to run just as much as we can. The only thing that stops us is the safety," said Gray.