Five people — including three children — were rescued from dark and stormy North Carolina waters late Friday night just hours before Tropical Storm Ophelia made landfall there.

Two adults and three children — ages 4, 7 and 10 — were aboard a 38-foot sailboat in Cape Lookout’s Lookout Bight when the owner of the vessel decided he “did not feel comfortable” in the narrow channel due to the dangerous conditions and called the U.S. Coast Guard Sector North Carolina from a cell phone for help, according to a press release.

Ten-foot high waves and 40 mph wind gusts were rocking the anchored boat at that point.

The powerful tropical storm touched down on Emerald Isle — mere miles from Lookout Bight — at 6:15 a.m. the next morning, bringing with it 70 mph winds and tumultuous surf.

A 45-foot response boat navigated the narrow channel using parachute flares and reached the anchored catamaran just before 9 p.m.

All five passengers were brought aboard and no injuries were reported.

A helicopter, seen in a video posted by the Coast Guard, aided in the daring late-night rescue and provided light from above to help navigate back to the station.

The group arrived safely back to the station at 10:22 p.m.

The sailboat was left anchored and will be assessed by local salvage crews once Tropical Storm Ophelia passes, the Coast Guard said in the statement. 

North Carolina officials declared a state of emergency on Friday due to the storm.

It was forecast to bring storm surges of over 6 feet in some areas, as well as life-threatening inundation, the National Hurricane Center warned.

Impacts from Ophelia were felt throughout the Outer Banks on Friday.

The region saw flooding and widespread power outages on Saturday as rain and heavy winds were expected to continue through the weekend.