HATTERAS, N.C. -- Storm-tested residents of North Carolina's Outer Banks reacted with a collective shrug Tuesday as Tropical Storm Gustav brushed the coast with intermittent bouts of rain and hurricane-strength gusts.

"It's windy and rainy. It's not as windy as we've seen in the past," Allen Burrus said as he watched a steady stream of customers buying water, sandwich fixings and milk from his supermarket.

"If you live here, you have to be prepared for this kind of thing," he said.

Even though Gustav was powerful enough to knock out power to all of Hatteras Island at one point, the storm's rain and wind were often broken up by periods of cloudy skies and, for a few brief moments, sunshine.