THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, August 16, 1995 TAG: 9508160581
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 66 lines
If you're leaving, get out. If you're staying, get ready.
Hurricane Felix bore down on the North Carolina Outer Banks and coastal Virginia late Tuesday, showing no signs of making any last-minute turn.
At 8 p.m., Felix was 330 miles east-southeast of Cape Hatteras, moving toward the west-northwest near 16 mph. It is steering into the warm water of the Gulf Stream, where it is expected to slow somewhat and intensify.
Although the timing is uncertain, Felix is expected to come ashore late tonight or early Thursday somewhere along the Outer Banks with 100 mph winds and a potentially huge storm surge - ending the region's decade's long record of eluding a major, direct hit.
Despite Tuesday's sunny, clear skies, Felix's calling card was found along the coastline, where the surf was already slamming in. By late afternoon, the first spiraling bands of clouds ahead of the hurricane spread over the Outer Banks while winds increased to 30 mph offshore at the Diamond Shoals Light.
The National Hurricane Center placed Virginia and North Carolina under a hurricane warning at 11 a.m. Tuesday.
In North Carolina, routes off the Outer Banks were jammed as thousands heeded early-morning orders to evacuate the fragile barrier islands. Some people remained, however, defiant in the face of authority and nature.
Later in the day, officials in the Tar Heel State ordered a massive evacuation of Dare and Currituck counties.
In Virginia, Gov. George F. Allen declared a state of emergency and officials in Virginia Beach and Norfolk warned tourists to leave. They also urged residents to consider evacuating - especially those living in flood-prone areas.
The Navy did leave. Anyone who had time to watch Tuesday was treated to the sight of an American armada moving to sea through Hampton Roads as most of the fleet - more than 60 warships and 30,000 sailors - sought the presumed safety of open waters.
For folks who are staying behind, the effects of Felix will likely begin to be felt well in advance of landfall - testament to the storm's huge size. Hurricane-force winds of 74 mph or higher extended out 120 miles from the storm's center Tuesday; tropical-storm-force winds ranged 280 miles from the center. The hurricane was about 300 miles wide, the hurricane center said.<
Though winds are a problem, the biggest danger may come from storm surge - the wall of water the hurricane is pushing up ahead of it.
Of particular concern for Hampton Roads will be the effect of the storm on the Chesapeake Bay. Felix is expected to build up a large storm surge that, as it approaches from the southeast, will effectively cork the Bay.
Winds out of the north and northeast will be pushing Bay waters south. With no exit through the Virginia Capes, the Bay may spill into low-lying areas of Norfolk and areas adjacent to branches of the Elizabeth River. ILLUSTRATION: Color graphic
How it will Strike
How to get the latest information
Deciding to stay or leave
For complete graphic, see microfilm
KEYWORDS: HURRICANE FELIX by CNB