THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, October 15, 1994 TAG: 9410150230
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE AND JACK DORSEY, STAFF WRITERS
LENGTH: Medium: 73 lines
A strengthening storm buffeted the North Carolina and Virginia coasts on Friday, challenging the expertise of Coast Guard crews as they mounted at-sea rescues during the first full day of rain in nearly a month.
A coastal flood watch and a heavy surf advisory are in effect through today from Cape Lookout, N.C., north through eastern Virginia, including the Albemarle and Pamlico sounds and the Chesapeake Bay.
A flash-flood watch also was in effect from northeastern North Carolina into the Piedmont.
Despite the bad weather, Coast Guard rescue helicopters from Elizabeth City made two rescues at sea, where 60 mph winds kicked up 25-foot waves.
In the first incident, about 90 miles southeast of Cape Hatteras, a rescue crew recovered a 28-year-old man from the cargo vessel Joshua about 10 a.m. A 12-foot wave came over the side of the ship, knocking the man into a bulkhead and fracturing his leg.
In the second incident, which began about 4 p.m., Nicholai Shatalove, a 40-year-old Russian, was picked up by helicopter from the deck of the 400-foot Liberian-flagged tanker Lady Sovereign about 95 miles east of Oregon Inlet after he complained of chest pains.
Both men were taken to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital.
In Hampton Roads, slick roads contributed to several accidents that helped turn the normally slow Friday afternoon commute into an ordeal for thousands of motorists.
On the other hand, the steady, light rainfall was gulped up by lawns and gardens.
By 5 p.m., 0.79 of an inch of rain had been measured at the National Weather Service office at Norfolk International Airport. Normal rainfall to date for October is 1.49 inches. Before this storm's arrival, there had been only a trace of rain this month.
And it was windy, with gusts up to 50 mph along the Outer Banks and 30 mph in Hampton Roads.
The strengthening gale was located along the North Carolina coast near Wilmington on Friday. As the storm moved slowly north, a band of rain gradually spread north through Hampton Roads and into Richmond. Light rain reached the Washington area by midday.
Whether it was a sign of things to come this winter was unclear, but such storm systems have brought heavy snowfalls to Virginia and North Carolina in the past.
``The low is expected to slowly drift east tonight and intensify,'' said Kermit Keeter, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Raleigh.
That is expected to keep the coastal area under steady winds out of the northeast, Keeter said, and with ``winds expected to be gale force at times, seas along the coast will continue to be high, running 8 to 12 feet. Some coastal flooding from ocean overwash is possible through today, mainly around the times of high tide, he said.
There also was the potential for flooding along the sounds, particularly on the mainland side of the Pamlico Sound where water levels could rise 1 to 4 feet above normal, Keeter said.
``Pounding surf may cause some beach erosion as well,'' Keeter said.
Winds are expected to subside by Sunday.
Here is the Hampton Roads forecast:
Today - Cloudy during the morning with a few sprinkles possible. Becoming partly cloudy during the afternoon. High in the mid-60s. Northeast winds 15 to 20 mph. Tides 1 to 2 feet above normal and moderate beach erosion at times of high tide.
Tonight - Clearing early. Continued breezy. Low in the mid- to upper 50s. Northeast winds 15 mph.
Sunday - Mostly sunny. High in the mid-60s.
KEYWORDS: WEATHER STORM U.S. COAST GUARD RESCUE by CNB