THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Sunday, September 8, 1996             TAG: 9609080041
SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A12  EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER 
                                            LENGTH:   43 lines

AS IF FRAN WEREN'T ENOUGH: HORTENSE LOOKS TO BE ON ITS HEELS THE TROPICAL STORM, GROWING STRONGER, IS HEADING TOWARD THE NORTHERN CARIBBEAN.

A day after Fran faded, Hortense was born.

And for a hurricane-weary Southeast, the forecast is not welcome. Hortense is expected to grow into a hurricane and, like several others this year, it appears to be on a course that could threaten the mainland late this week.

The strengthening tropical storm - the eighth this season - was bearing down on the islands of the northeastern Caribbean with sustained winds of 60 mph Saturday.

A day earlier, its top winds had been just 30 mph.

``It may continue to intensify,'' said Declann Cannon, a meteorologist at The Weather Channel in Atlanta. ``There should be plenty of warm waters'' in the Caribbean to fuel the storm.

A hurricane watch was in effect for the British and U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, and a tropical storm warning also was posted from Martinique northwest through Puerto Rico.

At 5 p.m., the center of Hortense was about 1,700 miles southeast of Virginia Beach or 35 miles east of Guadeloupe and Dominica, moving west-northwest about 10 mph. That motion was expected to continue through today, bringing the storm through the Leeward and northern Windward islands overnight and today.

``Wind gusts to hurricane force (of 74 mph) could occur over elevated terrain just northeast of the center,'' said Ed Rappaport, a meteorologist with the National Hurricane Center in Miami. ``Some strengthening is likely during the next 24 hours.''

Rainfall totals of 5 to 10 inches are expected near the path of Hortense, and greater amounts are possible over mountainous terrain.

The center expects Hortense to turn gradually to the northwest over the next several days. If that happens, the storm would be just north of the border of the Dominican Republic and Haiti by Wednesday, heading toward the Bahamas.

Based on historical averages, the peak day of the hurricane season is Tuesday.

KEYWORDS: HURRICANES HURRICANE FRAN by CNB