THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, November 18, 1994 TAG: 9411180488
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: LOCAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER
ASSOCIATED PRESS
LENGTH: Long : 140 lines
Hurricane Gordon - a meandering, late-season storm that has killed hundreds and cost millions - nudged closer to the North Carolina and Virginia coasts.
The warning went up at midnight after a reconnaissance aircraft found that the hurricane, about 120 miles southeast of Hatteras, had begun drifting northwest at 6 mph - toward the Outer Banks.
Forecasters expect the storm to turn back on a northerly path just as it reaches the North Carolina coast and turn to the northeast soon after. It's possible, however, that a hurricane watch or warning could be issued for Hampton Roads today, depending on the course of the storm.
Gordon's movements have frustrated forecasters who had thought it would head into oblivion at sea Thursday after inundating Florida.
Forecasters are uncertain of the storm's path. But early this morning, the National Hurricane Center said Gordon's turn to the northwest would bring the center within 30 miles of the Outer Banks by about noon.
The storm might even hug the coastline, passing as close as Hurricane Emily did last year.
Route 12, the key roadway through the Outer Banks, was flooded in places late Thursday.
The storm also slowed down late Thursday, raising the threat that high tides and strong winds could last longer than originally thought. High tides this morning will occur at 7:03 a.m. in Kitty Hawk and at 8:53 a.m. in Hampton Roads.
At 3 p.m. Thursday, a data buoy 50 miles east of Virginia Beach recorded seas of 18 feet. Waves of 10 to 15 feet are expected today along the Virginia coast and could cause considerable beach erosion, the National Weather Service warned.
Winds gusted to near 50 mph on the Outer Banks and in Norfolk.
Gordon became a minimal hurricane Thursday, with top winds of 80 mph and gusts to 100 mph. But even as a weaker tropical storm, it exacted a heavy toll: more than 500 lives lost in Haiti, Cuba and Jamaica; six deaths in Florida; and more than $500 million in damage to Florida, much of that to crops.
With that history in mind, residents of the Outer Banks were bracing for a rough night Thursday.
In Kitty Hawk, heavy equipment scraped sand off N.C. Route 12 Thursday afternoon as waves threatened about half a dozen beachfront cottages.
Emergency officials in Dare County met Thursday afternoon to study the storm and map strategy. Webb Fuller, Nags Head's chief planner, said Gordon's unexpected shift to the north was bad news for the Outer Banks.
North Carolina's barrier islands could feel the full force of the storm for about 12 more hours, he said.
Throughout the afternoon, town officials patrolled the oceanfront road, fearing that some teetering homes would fall into the surf racing under them. None had been lost by nightfall, however. IN HAMPTON ROADS
At Sandbridge in Virginia Beach, the picture was similar. Anxious homeowners and visitors watched the pounding surf; city officials said that they were monitoring the storm closely and that emergency personnel were on alert.
In Norfolk, officials suggested that mobile-home residents and people living in flood-prone areas move to higher ground as a precaution, but they stopped short of calling for an evacuation.
Virginia Power reported scattered outages on Thursday, affecting more than 4,000 customers.
Police reported numerous accidents on wet roads. Traffic on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel was restricted to cars and pickups because of winds.
In Norfolk and Portsmouth at high tide, water backed up from storm drains and flooded some low-lying streets and intersections.
Minor wind damage to buildings was reported throughout the region, and by evening, tree limbs were reported down in several places. FORECASTERS' VIEW
The Hurricane Center urged coastal residents to keep close tabs on the storm today.
``It's such a big system,'' said Ed Rappaport, the lead forecaster at the center in Miami. He warned that even without its center coming ashore, Gordon was strong enough to bring hurricane-force gusts of wind and heavy rains, along with very high tides, to the coastline.
The storm first made a critical turn to the north late Thursday and slowed to about 12 mph. Rappaport said then that the turn significantly increased the threat to the Outer Banks because the hurricane was likely to come within 50 to 75 miles of the coast.
``That would bring the center just about to the Outer Banks,'' Rappaport said.
That scenario is similar to Hurricane Emily - a stronger storm - which brushed the Outer Banks last year, causing extensive damage in Buxton.
He didn't expect the storm to gain much more strength, but said it could intensify a little.
``Water temperatures are just enough to support a hurricane, but not much longer,'' Rappaport said. ``Once you get past Hatteras, they cool significantly.'' Hurricanes thrive in warm water, which is relatively unstable.
John Hope, the veteran hurricane forecaster for The Weather Channel in Atlanta, said Gordon was ``getting better and better organized'' as it neared the coast. ``I don't expect it to be far off the Outer Banks.''
Because the storm is so large, its effects were already being felt up to 200 miles from its center Thursday afternoon. Hurricane-force winds of 75 mph were reported at the Diamond Shoals lighthouse just off the North Carolina coast. MESS AND DELAYS
Indeed, Gordon stirred up more trouble Thursday than other, stronger, hurricanes that have come far closer to Virginia.
Power outages, flooded streets, accidents, wind-damaged buildings, felled trees, eroded beaches and restrictions on bridge traffic were among the effects as Gordon moved southeast of the Outer Banks.
The foul weather delayed the homecoming of some Navy ships returning from a deployment.
The four ships of the Guam amphibious ready group will remain an extra day in Morehead City, N.C., where they unloaded the 2,000 Marines they carried during the tour.
The ships' arrival in Norfolk is now scheduled sometime Saturday for the amphibious assault ship Guam, the amphibious transport docks Austin and Tortuga, and the tank landing ship Harlan County. MEMO: Staff writer Lane DeGregory contributed to this story.
ILLUSTRATION: Map
STAFF
GORDON'S PATH UP THE COAST
KEYWORDS: HURRICANE GORDON by CNB