THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, June 20, 1996 TAG: 9606200463
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 95 lines
A big thunderstorm with a name - steered northeast along the Outer Banks and weakened on Wednesday, stirring up surf and piling up clouds for some pretty pictures but otherwise having little impact.
Light rain and maybe a few thunderstorms are about all Hampton Roads can expect through today as Arthur - an unusually early tropical visitor that lost its tropical storm status Wednesday night - moves away to the northeast. Winds are expected to be minimal.
Otherwise, Arthur's legacy will be to usher in some moist tropical air that will set the stage for a steamy weekend.
At 8 p.m., the National Hurricane Center downgraded Arthur to a tropical depression as its sustained winds dropped to 35 mph. It was centered over Cape Lookout and moving northeast at nearly 10 mph, and most of its associated rainfall had dissipated.
All tropical storm watches and warnings were dropped, and Arthur is forecast to continue weakening today, even after making an expected turn to the northeast and back over open waters.
Small craft were being advised to remain in port, however. And swimmers should be cautious about entering the water today along the coast, as swells from Arthur may stir up dangerous rip currents in some areas.
Earlier Wednesday, winds gusted to 48 mph at Frying Pan Shoals southeast of Cape Fear, N.C., and five inches of rain fell in Wilmington, N.C.
But that was the exception. Most of the day, sunlight peaked through the clouds on the Outer Banks, and beachgoers were largely oblivious to what was stirring up the fierce white caps.
By this morning, Arthur ``should be accelerating on out to sea and getting out of the way,'' said John Hope, a senior meteorologist at The Weather Channel in Atlanta.
If anyone fears that such an early visit from the first storm of the season portends ill winds ahead, however, the experts say to relax.
``One thing we've noticed over the years: What happens in June and even July doesn't correlate with the rest of the season, period,'' Hope said. ``It doesn't necessarily mean there will be a big season.''
It was unusual, however, to have a tropical storm bumping into the mid-Atlantic coast at this time of year. It's only happened a few times over 109 years, Hope said, and Arthur earns the distinction of having formed farther north than any other June tropical storm in the record books.
Since 1887, only three of the 59 tropical storms and hurricanes to form in June have developed off the East Coast. The rest formed in the Gulf of Mexico or the Caribbean - traditional breeding grounds for early-season storms.
Later in the season, as tropical waves begin to spin off the West African coast, the big Atlantic storms form with ample time to develop.
While it's unusual to have a tropical storm form where Arthur did at this time of year, a few June storms have eventually affected the mid-Atlantic coast:
Agnes in 1972 formed over the Yucatan Peninsula and became a hurricane before going ashore on the Florida panhandle. It then steered northeast, coming over the Outer Banks and back into the Atlantic, where it reintensified, although winds fell just short of hurricane strength at a peak of 69 mph east of Norfolk.
Alma in 1966 developed June 4 over Nicaragua, headed north over western Cuba and slid up Florida's west coast, with top winds peaking at 127 mph before losing some of its punch as it came ashore. It, too, reemerged over the Atlantic near Charleston and regained minimal hurricane strength with top winds of 81 mph well east of the Outer Banks.
Ana in 1991 was one of the unusual June storms, forming just east of Miami on June 29. But it was never more than a tropical storm. It first went west, into South Florida, and then arced to the northeast, emerging over the Atlantic near Jacksonville, Fla. It stayed well east of the Outer Banks and only then intensified into a tropical storm, with peak winds of 52 mph.
With Arthur expected to brush past Virginia Beach today, leaving behind plenty of moist, unstable tropical air, the National Weather Service forecast is calling for some muggy, stormy weather:
Today should be partly sunny, with a 40 percent chance of showers or thunderstorms and a high near 90. Easterly winds of 10 to 20 mph will become southwesterly at 10 mph during the afternoon.
Tonight brings a good chance of thunderstorms until around midnight, then decreasing clouds. The low should be in the lower 70s, with southwest winds at 10 mph. The chance of rain is 50 percent.
Friday should be partly sunny, warm and humid, with a high in the lower 90s and scattered showers and thunderstorms. The overnight low should be in the mid-70s.
Variable cloudiness, continued warm and humid Saturday with a chance of showers and thunderstorms. The low should be in the mid-70s, with a high in the mid-80 to near 90.
Partly sunny Sunday, very warm and humid, with a low in the mid-70s and a high in the 90s. ILLUSTRATION: AP color photo
[A surfer at Sunset Beach, N.C. ...]
Graphic
Tracker's Guide
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KEYWORDS: TROPICAL STORM TROPICAL DEPRESSION HISTORY by CNB