Hurricane Ophelia: 74 mph winds possible, NC declares state of emergency

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

Hurricane Ophelia threatens Carolinas
North Carolina governor declares state of emergency

Saturday, September 10, 2005; Posted: 11:27 p.m. EDT (03:27 GMT)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9280375/site/newsweek/

CHARLESTON, South Carolina (AP) -- A hurricane watch was posted Saturday for the Southeast coast as Ophelia strengthened into a hurricane once again, and meteorologists said its meandering course could take a sharp turn toward land.

A hurricane watch was posted along a 300-mile stretch from the Georgia-South Carolina line to North Carolina's Cape Lookout, meaning hurricane-force wind of at least 74 mph was possible by Sunday evening, the National Hurricane Center said.

North Carolina's governor declared a state of emergency as the storm's track shifted northward with a forecast landfall on the North Carolina coast next week.

The storm wasn't close enough to North Carolina that a decision had to be made 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 Saturday evening for voluntary evacuees from low-lying areas and barrier islands.

[Skittles]

1. Micahel Brown is PREPARED !!!

Lord help them. :o

[FogerRox]

2. OMG here we go again- I hope nothing happens

[lala_rawraw]

3. Well, something is going on in Miami right now

Check the news, but seems like a bunch of smaller storms made landfall one after the other.

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

6. This was downgraded, then upgraded again...

The timestamp on the CNN content I posted is:

Saturday, September 10, 2005; Posted: 11:27 p.m. EDT (03:27 GMT)

Which was about an hour ago.

More:

The crew of an Air Force hurricane hunter airplane flying through Ophelia measured top sustained wind of 80 mph. It could strengthen a bit before an expected Tuesday landfall, said Eric Blake, a meteorologist at the hurricane center in Miami.

"Almost every computer model indicates a United States landfall," he said. "It's time to make those preparations."

At 8 p.m. EDT Saturday, Ophelia was about 200 miles southeast of Wilmington, North Carolina, and was drifting toward the northeast, but forecasters predicted little movement for the rest of the weekend.

[RagingInMiami]

23. What's up Miami

We had a lot of lightning earlier and even hail this evening. Hail in September in Miami. Weird.

[Imagevision]

19. Hope nothing happens? you mean if it's up to Fema...!

http://downingstreetmemo.com/

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

4. I just keep thinking "this can't happen"...

I know it's the season for this kind of weather, but there are too many scenarios...all of them involving Bush and/or his administration...that hopes the weather reports are WRONG, and that this thing turns into a tropical storm and passes through with as little damage as possible.

[SlavesandBulldozers]

15. I'm sure NC will sleep sound tonight knowing that Brownie's on the case

Lord help them is right.

[Tatiana]

5. Jesus. My prayers go out to those in the Carolinas.

This drives hime the point that Bush's cronies must not be reassigned, but FIRED and replaced with competent people who have emergency management experience.

[RallyInDC]

7. this is horrifying!!!

damn....north carolina?!?? what can be done....this is awful...

[ncrainbowgrrl]

9. hope that "brownie" is still sidelined up in DC...

maybe he'll stay up there and leave the disaster relief to the local agencies and others who KNOW what they're doing?

[Rabrrrrrr]

8. I bet they get help! In fact, I bet they get help

stationed right outside the danger zone, just WAITING to go in!

And I bet the rightwingers will find some way to spin it to make it not seem evil and something that's being done because they're white there, and might give some money to the republican party if they are saved and protected.

[Tatiana]

11. Do we have any NC DUers here?

Do they have confidence in Chertoff and Brownie? Do they have confidence in FEMA? In the pResident?

God, I can't believe this. I hope NC is spared :(

[ncrainbowgrrl]

14. NC DUer right here!

And do I have confidence in Chertoff or Brownie?

um.... :rofl: NO.

FEMA? errr... maybe on a local level?
pResident? No.
Liddy Dole: No- but more than the next person on the list...
Burr: HAH. (who?)

[lildreamer316]

24. A deicent amount of us

but I think most of us are in central/northern NC and Western areas. I could be wrong though.

[theHandpuppet]

10. I don't think most folks realize the fragile nature of the barrier islands

Even a Cat 1 hurricane could cause substantial damage to some of the barrier islands, especially places like Ocracoke and the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge. Others like Cape Hatteras are choked with development properties. Even a marginal hurricane can do considerable damage when it sits just off the coast and pounds the shoreline

[Nikki Stone 1]

13. Hey HP!

Guess whose sister is going to North Carolina tomorrow on vacation to the beach. I left her a phone message telling her she's fucking nuts, but then she never listens to me.

[theHandpuppet]

18. You've got to be kidding!

Hopefully, she may be saved from her own foolishness by the NC State Police, who get rather peeved at folks trying to ENTER the barrier islands during a hurricane. Some of the islands are only accessible by ferry, and those ferries won't be running once Ophelia gets nasty. She could end up trapped.

[dsc]

12. I live in the first tier of shelters

for North Carolina's coast. It looks like we won't be affected if it stays on the path you say as I am too far north but places like Wilmington will be. God help us if we need FEMA but atleast we have most of our population centers well inland.

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

16. I typed Wilmington into The Weather Channel's Web Site and got this:

Severe Weather Alert from the National Weather Service
...HURRICANE OPHELIA LOCAL STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC 1145 PM EDT SAT SEP 10 2005

...OPHELIA SLOWLY MEANDERING OFF THE SOUTH CAROLINA COAST...

...NEW INFORMATION... AT 11 PM EDT THE CENTER OF HURRICANE OPHELIA WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 31.8 NORTH...LONGITUDE 75.8 WEST...ABOUT OR 200 MILES SOUTHEAST OF WILMINGTON NORTH CAROLINA. OPHELIA IS NEARLY STATIONARY AND LITTLE MOTION IS ANTICIPATED OVERNIGHT AND ON SUNDAY.

THE LATEST MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE WAS 977 MB OR 28.85 INCHES. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS REMAIN NEAR 80 MPH WITH HIGHER GUSTS. OPHELIA IS A CATEGORY ONE HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON SCALE. SLOW STRENGTHENING IS POSSIBLE DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS.

...WATCHES/WARNINGS... A HURRICANE WATCH IS IN EFFECT FROM SOUTH SANTEE RIVER SOUTH CAROLINA TO SURF CITY NORTH CAROLINA.

...AREAS AFFECTED... THIS STATEMENT IS FOR RESIDENTS OF THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN NORTHEAST SOUTH CAROLINA...GEORGETOWN...HORRY...AND IN SOUTHEAST NORTH CAROLINA...BRUNSWICK...NEW HANOVER...PENDER.

...WIND IMPACTS... ALONG THE COAST...WINDS WERE GUSTING NEAR 30 KT THIS AFTERNOON. TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS...WITH GUSTS TO 50 KT...ARE OCCURRING OVER PORTIONS OF THE COASTAL WATERS. THESE WINDS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH A TIGHT PRESSURE GRADIENT BETWEEN OPHELIA AND A HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEM TO THE NORTHWEST. HURRICANE FORCE WINDS ARE FORECAST TO DEVELOP OVER THE WATERS LATE MONDAY.

BASED ON THE CURRENT FORECAST TRACK...TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS ARE FORECAST TO SPREAD INLAND OVER NORTHEAST SOUTH CAROLINA AND SOUTHEAST NORTH CAROLINA MONDAY EVENING. ALTHOUGH THE LATEST TRACK FROM THE HURRICANE CENTER KEEPS MOST OF THE HURRICANE FORCE WINDS OFF THE NORTH CAROLINA COAST...THE TRACK OF OPHELIA IS VERY MUCH IN QUESTION AND THERE STILL REMAINS A GOOD CHANCE THAT OPHELIA COULD MAKE LANDFALL IN THE CAPE FEAR REGION AS A STRONG CATEGORY 1 HURRICANE.

...SEAS AND RIP CURRENTS... SEAS REPORTED FROM NEARSHORE BUOYS WERE 7 TO 8 FT...WHILE BUOYS FURTHER OFF THE COAST REPORTED SEAS 12 TO 14 FT. SEAS WILL INCREASE HIGHER TO AROUND 20 FT AS OPHELIA MOVES CLOSER. MARINERS ARE URGED TO REMAIN IN PORT.

SWIMMERS WILL BE SUBJECT TO STRONG LONG SHORE CURRENTS AND STRONG RIP CURRENTS...AND ARE URGED TO STAY OUT OF THE WATER.

...STORM SURGE AND STORM TIDE IMPACTS... EROSION AT WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH...CAROLINA BEACH...AND KURE BEACH WAS REPORTED THIS AFTERNOON WITH A 3 FOOT DROP IN PLACES.

WITH THE SUSTAINED NORTHEAST WIND...WATER LEVELS ON EAST FACING BEACHES ARE ABOUT A FOOT HIGHER THAN NORMAL...AND ARE EXPECTED TO BE 1 TO 2 FT ABOVE NORMAL THROUGH SUNDAY.

AT THE TIME OF HIGH TIDE EARLY THIS AFTERNOON...MINOR FLOODING WAS REPORTED AT CAROLINA BEACH ALONG CANAL DRIVE. AT THE HIGH TIDE TONIGHT AROUND MIDNIGHT...MINOR COASTAL FLOODING IS EXPECTED AGAIN...AND THE WATER IS EXPECTED TO BE ABOUT A FOOT HIGHER ON THE EARLY SUNDAY AFTERNOON HIGH TIDE.

BASED ON A CATEGORY 1 HURRICANE INTENSITY...STORM SURGE VALUES NEAR THE EYE LANDFALL WILL BE NEAR 10 FT...CAUSING COASTAL FLOODING.

...RAINFALL... TOTAL RAINFALL AMOUNTS WILL RANGE FROM 3 TO 5 INCHES WITH THE HEAVIEST RAINFALL EXPECTED ALONG THE IMMEDIATE COAST LATE MONDAY AND ON TUESDAY. ALTHOUGH RIVERS ARE LOW AND THE GROUND IS RELATIVELY DRY...EXTENSIVE PONDING OF WATER IS EXPECTED. WIDESPREAD FLOODING IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME....

[dsc]

20. that is pretty much what I had been hearing as well

I live about 100 miles inland and about 100 miles north of Wimington. I should have no real problems here.

[NYC]

17. I hope they don't count on Homeland Security's FEMA.

I guess they know better.

[Porcupine]

21. This is NOT CLIMATE CHANGE RELATED!!! So there.

everybody go back to covering your windows.

[ms liberty]

22. I called my (NC) Senators (Dole & Burr both R's) about this...

on Friday. I said this to the message taker: Please ask Senator Dole/Burr this. With Ophelia heading our direction and the hurricane season not over, if we get hit by a hurricane here in NC, are we on our own for 5 to 7 days? I'd like to know, so I can stock up on supplies, you know? Food, water, ammo (no I didn't say that one - just thought it!). Because (I said), if FEMA won't come in or let anyone else in, if the NG won't be coming in, if we can't expect our federal govt. to respond quickly in a disaster, I need to know. And since Sen. Dole/Burr is my elected representative in the Senate, I think they should be able to provide me with that necessary information.
Needless to say, I did not get to talk to either of them. I was polite to the people in each office, but I think I got my message across. What say ya'll?
BTW, I'm in the foothills, about an hour N-NW of Charlotte. It puts me out of the worst of most hurricanes. Hugo was one of the exceptions, it was still at hurricane strength when it passed over us - the eye passed very near where I am. I personally was out of power for 10 days after Hugo, but it was nowhere near like NO or FL after Andrew.