THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, July 15, 1995 TAG: 9507150336
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 36 lines
Keep an eye on Chantal.
That was the word Friday from emergency services personnel around the region as they put their own staffs on a precautionary alert.
Tropical Storm Chantal, with top sustained winds of 45 mph and gusts to 60 mph, was far from Hampton Roads on Friday. At 5 p.m., the season's third tropical storm was about 225 miles north of Puerto Rico. It was inching toward the west-northwest at just 6 mph.
But forecasts call for a slow intensification and a gradual turn that could put the storm on a course for the Southeast coast of the United States early next week.
If the forecasts hold - predicting where tropical storms will go is not an exact science - Chantal would be about 450 miles southeast of North Carolina by Monday afternoon. By that time, its top winds could approach hurricane force, which is 74 mph, the National Hurricane Center said.
With that, Hampton Roads cities went on alert Friday.
``All city staff were notified . . . to monitor this system over the weekend,'' said Jim Talbot, deputy coordinator for emergency services in Norfolk.
Residents and vacationers should do the same, Talbot said. MEMO: For updates, call INFOLINE at 640-5555 and enter category 1237.
by CNB