Hurricane Ophelia meandering toward US East Coast

[Menydh]

Hurricane Ophelia meandering toward US East Coast

September 11, 2005
Reuters

MIAMI (Reuters) - Hurricane Ophelia hovered off the coast of the southeastern United States on Sunday, gathering strength slightly but confounding forecasters who could not predict where the storm would make landfall.
While Ophelia loomed off the East Coast, the governor of North Carolina took precautions to keep residents and visitors safe from any trouble Ophelia might stir up. North Carolina officials were to hold a briefing on Sunday to detail preparations for the storm.

Gov. Mike Easley declared a state of emergency on Saturday and local officials issued a mandatory evacuation order for non-residents on the low-lying vacation island of Ocracoke on the North Carolina Outer Banks.

A hurricane watch issued by the National Hurricane Center in Miami cautioned millions of residents that fierce winds and other hurricane conditions were possible within 36 hours along America's southeastern coast.

At 5 a.m. EDT (0900 GMT), the watch was in effect from north of Edisto Beach, South Carolina, to Cape Lookout, North Carolina. The watch was discontinued from Savannah River, South Carolina, northeastward to Edisto Beach, South Carolina.

Forecasters said Ophelia is stationary and is expected to remain nearly stationary on Sunday. They said little change in strength is forecast during the next 24 hours.

Forecasters warned however that the hurricane watch may have to be shifted northward later in the day.

"Interests elsewhere in the southeastern United States coastal region should monitor the progress of Ophelia," the center said in an advisory.

Sustained winds rose to about 85 miles per hour (136 kph) within Ophelia, with higher gusts. The storm was near latitude 31.7 north and longitude 75.9 west, or some 250 miles east-southeast of Charleston, South Carolina, at 5 a.m. EDT (0900 GMT), according to a hurricane center advisory.

Forecasters described Ophelia as a large category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale, meaning it could be accompanied by a 4- to 5-foot storm surge.

In declaring a state of emergency for his state, Easley said tropical storm force winds and rain were expected to be felt in North Carolina on Monday and would strengthen through the day to hurricane force winds.


More than 3,000 tourists and 800 residents were on Ocracoke Island, which is reachable only by boat or plane, according to Hyde County Emergency Management Coordinator Tony Spencer. Continued ...


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