Hurricane Ophelia 'heading for Carolina'
Hurricane Ophelia lingered in the Atlantic early today but meteorologists said the storm could take a sharp turn toward the Carolinas, where a hurricane-watch was in effect.
The Category One hurricane’s top winds increased to 85 mph as a hurricane-watch stretched from just north of Edisto Beach, South Carolina, to North Carolina’s Cape Lookout.
“Almost every (computer) model indicates a US landfall,” said meteorologist Eric Blake of the National Hurricane Center in Miami. “It’s time to make those preparations.”
In North Carolina, Governor Mike Easley declared a state of emergency as the storm’s meandering track shifted northward and a landfall on Tuesday was forecast for the Carolina coast.
The storm was not close enough to make a decision on whether to order evacuations, said Eddie King, Pender County emergency management director.
South Carolina officials said a decision would be made soon about whether to order evacuations, but Charleston County announced it would open shelters for voluntary evacuees from low-lying areas and barrier islands.
The storm is “moving really slow so we have to hang with it. But there is some expectation it will move toward the coast,” said Joe Farmer, a spokesman for the South Carolina Emergency Management Division.
Ophelia had top sustained winds of 85mph but that could strengthen before Tuesday, the hurricane centre said.
Earlier today, Ophelia was 250 miles east-southeast of Charleston and about 245 miles south of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. The storm was nearly stationary, but forecasters predicted it would turn to the northwest, toward the coast, either late tonight or tomorrow.
Ophelia already was contributing to rough surf along the coast.
“There are large swells from Ophelia and residual swells from (Tropical Storm) Nate and from the north-east winds we’ve had over the past few days. You can imagine how confused the seas are,” said meteorologist Steve Pfaff at the National Weather Service in Wilmington, North Carolina.
He said a buoy at Frying Pan Shoals, 35 miles off Cape Fear, was reporting 12-foot high waves.
Ophelia is the seventh hurricane in this year’s busy Atlantic hurricane season, which began June 1 and ends around the end of November. Peak storm activity typically occurs from the end of August through mid-September.
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