Ophelia "not going to miss" NC (updated)

[Catchawave]

http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=92095&ran=221240&tref=po

STEVE STONE, CATHERINE KOZAK AND DARREN FREEMAN, The Virginian-Pilot
© September 14, 2005

It’s hunker-down time. Hurricane Ophelia is on the way.

“It looks like its going to happen,” said Hugh Cobb, a lead forecaster at the National Hurricane Center’s tropical analysis branch in Miami. “It’s not going to miss.”

Ophelia is expected to make landfall by this evening somewhere near Cape Lookout or Cape Fear with sustained winds near 80 mph.

“All our guidance is pretty much in agreement with that,” Cobb said. That comes after days of uncertainty as the storm meandered at sea.

Weather conditions should deteriorate steadily today across the region as tentacles of heavy rain and increasingly gusty winds spread far in advance of Ophelia.

A hurricane warning is in effect for the North Carolina coast from Oregon Inlet, including the Pamlico Sound, south to the South Santee River in South Carolina.

A hurricane watch and a tropical storm warning are in effect north of Oregon Inlet to the Virginia border, including the Albemarle Sound.

Cont'd at link w/related stories and information....

[Verve]

1. FEMA's Coming, FEMA's Coming!

Evacuate while you can.....

[lse7581011]

2. Don't Worry!

Help is on the way!

[lebkuchen]

5. October may be too late!

[dweller]

3. latest NOAA Hurricane OPHELIA Public Advisory

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/text/refresh/MIATCPAT1+shtml/132345.shtml
11 AM EDT WED SEP 14 2005

...OPHELIA MOVING CLOSER TO THE NORTH CAROLINA COAST...
...NEW WATCHES ISSUED AND WARNINGS ISSUED...

AT 11 AM EDT...1500Z...THE HURRICANE WARNING HAS BEEN EXTENDED
NORTHWARD TO THE NORTH CAROLINA/VIRGINIA BORDER. A HURRICANE WARNING
IS NOW IN EFFECT FROM LITTLE RIVER INLET TO THE NORTH
CAROLINA/VIRGINIA BORDER...INCLUDING THE PAMLICO AND ALBEMARLE
SOUNDS.

AT 11 AM EDT...A HURRICANE WATCH AND A TROPICAL STORM WARNING ARE IN
EFFECT NORTH OF THE NORTH CAROLINA/VIRGINIA BORDER TO CAPE CHARLES
LIGHT VIRGINIA...INCLUDING THE CHESAPEAKE BAY SOUTH OF NEW POINT
COMFORT.

AT 11 AM EDT...ALL WARNINGS HAVE BEEN DISCONTINUED FROM THE SOUTH
SANTEE RIVER SOUTHWARD. THE HURRICANE WATCH HAS BEEN DISCONTINUED
FROM SOUTH OF LITTLE RIVER INLET SOUTHWARD. HOWEVER...A TROPICAL
STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM SOUTH OF LITTLE RIVER INLET TO
NORTH OF THE SOUTH SANTEE RIVER.

A HURRICANE WARNING MEANS THAT HURRICANE CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED IN
THE WARNING AREA WITHIN THE NEXT 24 HOURS. A HURRICANE WATCH MEANS
THAT HURRICANE CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE IN THE WATCH AREA WITHIN THE
NEXT 36 HR. A TROPICAL STORM WARNING MEANS THAT TROPICAL STORM
CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED IN THE WARNING AREA WITHIN THE NEXT 24
HOURS.

FOR STORM INFORMATION SPECIFIC TO YOUR AREA...INCLUDING POSSIBLE
INLAND WATCHES AND WARNINGS...PLEASE MONITOR PRODUCTS ISSUED
BY YOUR LOCAL WEATHER OFFICE.

AT 11 AM EDT...1500Z...THE CENTER OF THE LARGE EYE OF HURRICANE
OPHELIA WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 33.7 NORTH... LONGITUDE 77.6 WEST
OR ABOUT 40 MILES SOUTH-SOUTHEAST OF WILMINGTON NORTH CAROLINA AND
ABOUT 85 MILES SOUTHWEST OF CAPE LOOKOUT NORTH CAROLINA.

OPHELIA IS MOVING TOWARD THE NORTH-NORTHEAST NEAR 7 MPH...AND THIS
GENERAL MOTION IS FORECAST TO CONTINUE TODAY. A GRADUAL TURN TOWARD
THE NORTHEAST AT A SLIGHTLY FASTER FORWARD SPEED IS EXPECTED TO
OCCUR BY TONIGHT. ON THIS TRACK...THE CENTER OF OPHELIA IS FORECAST
TO MAKE LANDFALL ALONG OR PASS JUST SOUTH OF THE NORTH CAROLINA
OUTER BANKS ON THURSDAY. HOWEVER...THE NORTHERN EYEWALL WILL LIKELY
MOVE ACROSS THE SOUTHEASTERN COAST OF NORTH CAROLINA LATER TODAY.

DATA FROM AN AIR FORCE RESERVE RECONNAISSANCE AND NOAA LAND-BASED
DOPPLER RADARS INDICATE MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 80 MPH
WITH HIGHER GUSTS. OPHELIA IS A CATEGORY ONE HURRICANE ON THE
SAFFIR-SIMPSON SCALE. SOME SLIGHT STRENGTHENING IS STILL POSSIBLE
DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS BEFORE LANDFALL OCCURS.

more at link
dp

[Catchawave]

4. Yikes, my husband is flying into Norfolk tonight....

we're in a tropical storm watch area, but do you know at what sustained wind speed they shut airports down? And yes, I have his flight number punched into Flight Tracker, just worried it doesn't take off from JaxFL til 4ish today, so far, it's "on time" :)

[arrianna]

11. norfolkian here!

My fam lives in tidewater, my dad in norfolk, Willoughby spit(named so for the way a Hurricane in the 1700's just spit it right out of the sea) Shit, he spent Isabel all night is waist high water. That place floods like a mofo. All of Norfolk does. They don't do a lot of street repair, shit they can't even put up news stop signs.

[Catchawave]

13. that's why they call this area "tidewater"

unlike NOLA, we're just at sea level. Good luck to your family :hi:

[dbeach]

6. SURF kickin in RI

Stay safe..
I will be boogey boardin til the rains hit here on Th and Fri

[Mary Hinge]

7. not again, hope theres no repeat of NO

[Kool Kitty]

8. Probably not, because this storm

is much weaker than Katrina. Still, if you are in the watch zone, get your bottled water, food, batteries, etc., NOW. Because with this administration, it's blatantly obvious-YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN. Don't expect their help.

[spinbaby]

9. It's really slow moving

and it looks like it's going to sit with its eyewall over Wilmington for quite a while. Very little coverage of it.

[ernstbass]

10. My Mom just called me from Wilmington

she says that they have had some wind gusts and rain but it really hasn't been that bad thus far. No shingles have left the roof yet and no beach erosion thus far.

[July]

12. So, will FEMA go crazy trying to respond?

Or will their incompetence shine through again?

[slackmaster]

14. I called Cape Fear River yesterday

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=4762149&mesg_id=4762347

I hope my friends in Wilmington are ready for this.

[Tiggeroshii]

15. * learned his lesson with NO, he's gonna use this one to

pick up his approval for once...