Hurricane Ophelia looms off U.S. East Coast
Posted on: Sunday, 11 September 2005, 17:45 CDT
By Gene Cherry
SALVO, N.C. (Reuters) - Hurricane Ophelia parked off the coast of the southeastern United States on Sunday and could hit North Carolina later in the week, forecasters said.
The center of Ophelia, the first hurricane to threaten the United States since Katrina devastated the Louisiana-Mississippi coast two weeks ago, was about 255 miles south of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina at 5 p.m. EDT (2100 GMT). It had top sustained winds of 75 mph (120 kph), down from 85 mph (136 kph) earlier in the day.
Ophelia was not expected to strengthen in the next day but could grow stronger after that, forecasters at the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
They expected the hurricane to begin drifting west-northwest by Monday, with the center on or near the North Carolina coast on Wednesday.
North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley declared a state of emergency on Saturday and local officials issued a mandatory evacuation order for nonresidents on the low-lying vacation island of Ocracoke on North Carolina's Outer Banks.
A hurricane watch was in effect for 250 miles of coastline from Edisto Beach, South Carolina, north to Cape Lookout, North Carolina, cautioning residents that fierce winds and other hurricane conditions were possible within 36 hours, the hurricane center said.
A tropical storm warning was issued for that area south to the Santee River in South Carolina, alerting residents they could feel the outer fringes of the storm in the next 24 hours.
Ophelia was a Category 1 hurricane on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale, meaning it could be accompanied by a 4- to 5-foot (1- to 1.5-meter) storm surge. Such storms can flood coastal roads and damage piers, trees and unanchored mobile homes but rarely cause structural damage.
Hurricane Katrina was a far more powerful Category 4 storm when it hit the U.S. Gulf Coast.
More than 3,000 tourists and 800 residents had been on Ocracoke Island, which is reachable only by boat or plane, Hyde County Emergency Management Coordinator Tony Spencer said.
"The majority of the nonresidents appear to have left. The ferries were full last night and this morning," Spencer said by telephone from the island on Sunday.
More than 100,000 tourists and residents were on the vulnerable islands of the Outer Banks in two other North Carolina counties, Dare and Currituck, Dare County Emergency Management Coordinator Sandy Sanderson said.
Dare County will decide on Monday whether to order evacuation of Hatteras Island on the Outer Banks.
"We're in a holding pattern," Sanderson said.
The storm sent gusty winds and 6-foot (2-meter) waves over parts of the North Carolina coast, eroded beaches and triggered dangerous rip currents. The beaches were largely deserted on Sunday despite the sunshine.
The National Weather Service in Morehead City said parts of the state could see 7 inches of rain and localized flooding on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Source: REUTERS
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