THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, September 2, 1995 TAG: 9509020404
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 66 lines
A cold front brought twin blessings to Hampton Roads on Friday night: a dose of heavy rain and the promise of cooler temperatures today.
The cold front moved across the mountains of Virginia and North Carolina on Friday night, spawning numerous and sometimes severe thunderstorms as it moved east. It was expected to be off the coast by daybreak.
The front may stall briefly along the coast before moving offshore today. Behind it, high pressure is expected to build into Virginia and North Carolina from the Midwest.
Any rain it leaves should be welcomed. The six- to 10-day forecast predicts above-normal temperatures and below-normal rainfall in Southeast Virginia.
The Hampton Roads forecast calls for mostly cloudy skies this morning with a 40 percent chance of showers. Partial clearing is expected by late afternoon, with a high in the upper 70s.
Tonight should be partly cloudy with a low between 65 and 70.
Sunday is expected to be mostly sunny with a high around 80.
Labor Day's outlook is for mostly sunny skies with a high in the low to middle 80s.
But even as folks enjoy a generally pleasant weekend, forecasters are turning anxious eyes to the Atlantic, where the second major hurricane of the year is moving steadily west-northwest, with virtually the whole of the U.S. East and Gulf coasts as potential targets.
At 5 p.m. Friday, Hurricane Luis was about 1,070 miles east of the Leeward Islands and about 2,375 miles east-southeast of Norfolk. It was still far at sea. But while that meant the storm was many days from any landfall, it also meant the hurricane had more time to intensify.
And Luis is strong enough as it is.
The storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 130 mph with gusts to 160 mph. Luis was on the cusp between growing from a Category 3 to a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir/Simpson scale.
Meteorologists at the National Hurricane Center in Miami said that while there might be some fluctuations in its intensity, Luis is expected to remain a strong, well-defined hurricane.
Computer models disagree on the storm's eventual track, especially past Sunday. But the most prevalent course has the storm continuing steadily west-northwest into the Caribbean.
From there, it's anyone's guess.
The residents of Bermuda had a more immediate concern: Iris. A tropical storm watch was in effect for the island Friday night.
At 8 p.m., the center of Iris was about 525 miles south-southeast of Bermuda, moving northwest near 6 mph. The Hurricane Center is forecasting a gradual turn toward the north today.
Maximum sustained winds were near 105 mph, and little change in strength was considered likely.
Nearby, Tropical Storm Karen was hanging on by a thread Friday, 685 miles east-southeast of Bermuda.
Its interaction with Iris continued to sap its energy. The storm, with maximum winds of 40 mph, is expected to weaken and dissipate as it is enveloped by Iris.
One computer model suggests, however, that Karen might instead continue north and northeast, possibly looping around to the north and then northwest of Iris. That scenario was viewed as a long shot however.
KEYWORDS: WEATHER by CNB