WILMINGTON, N.C. – Ophelia kept up its teasing dance along the coast of the Carolinas on Monday, dropping slightly in strength from hurricane to tropical storm as it barely moved toward land.
Although Ophelia was centered more than 200 miles offshore, nonresidents were ordered to leave one of North Carolina’s Outer Banks islands, and 300 National Guard troops were sent to mustering points along the coast. School systems in five counties closed, even though the storm’s eye was predicted to remain offshore until Wednesday.
Ophelia was a minimal hurricane early Monday with sustained winds of 75 mph, but by midday it had weakened to about 70 mph, 4 mph below the threshold, the National Hurricane Center said.
Meteorologists warned, though, that the system had the potential to regain hurricane strength over the next day or so. A tropical storm warning and a hurricane watch remained in effect from Cape Lookout south to Edisto Beach, S.C.
With the storm’s path uncertain, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford called for a voluntary evacuation Monday of oceanfront and riverside areas in his state’s northeastern corner. He was joined by officials in North Carolina’s adjacent Brunswick County.
The storm’s slow movement is its primary danger, bringing the likelihood that it will hang over eastern North Carolina for days, said North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley.
Floods, prolonged power outages and severe wind damage were possible as Ophelia crawled north from Wilmington to the Pamlico Sound, he said.
Associated Press
A lone man fishes among the high waves being generated by Tropical Storm Ophelia on Hatteras Island in Rodanthe, N.C., on Monday.
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