DATE: Friday, September 5, 1997             TAG: 9709050606

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B5   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   51 lines

THIS GREAT SLEEPING WEATHER IS SETTING RECORDS ALL OVER

It's the kind of weather a particular soft drink maker loves: Canada Dry.

Cool, dry Canadian air surged south Thursday, toppling records most everywhere it went and giving folks an early feel for fall.

The cold air pushed to the Gulf Coast, even into central Florida.

Morning temperatures in the 50s to lower 60s were hard-pressed to reach the 70s across most of the mid-Atlantic region, the National Weather Service said. The high Thursday in Norfolk was 69 at the Weather Service office at Norfolk International Airport.

The normal high in Norfolk at this time of year is 83.

North Carolina was as chilly. By 5 p.m., temperatures ranged from 68 at Cape Hatteras and Elizabeth City to 79 degrees at Fayetteville and Hickory.

Clear skies overnight may produce near record lows in many places by this morning, with readings expected to drop into the 50s. The record low for today in Norfolk is 57, set in 1994.

Sunny skies today will allow temperatures to rise into the 70s. And while it may still be a bit windy, the gusts should be easing.

Here are some of the record lows set Thursday, and the previous record.

Beckley, W.Va. - 42; 45 in 1967.

Blacksburg - 42; tie, 1967.

Charleston, W.Va. - 44; 45 in 1946.

Chicago - 45; tie, 1982.

Elkins, W.Va. - 36; 37 in 1946.

Lexington, Ky. - 45; 47 in 1974.

Lynchburg - 43; 49 in 1967.

Northern Virginia (Dulles International Airport) - 50; tie, 1982.

Parkersburg, W.Va. - 42; 47 in 1908.

Philadelphia - 52; tie, 1946.

Raleigh - 52; tie, 1967.

Roanoke - 49; 50 in 1967.

Wilmington, Del. - 47; 50 in 1982.

While we're feeling the chill, it's still plenty warm in Hurricane Alley - the hurricane breeding ground from the African west coast, through the eastern Atlantic to the Leeward Islands.

On Thursday, Tropical Storm Erika was threatening the northern Leeward Islands and a tropical storm warning was up for the Dutch portion of St. Maarten. A tropical storm watch was posted for Antigua, Montserrat, Barbuda, St. Kitts and Nevis, and Anguilla.

At 5 p.m., the center of Erika was about 460 miles east-southeast of Antigua, moving toward the west-northwest near 21 mph. That motion was expected to continue overnight.

Maximum sustained winds increased to near 60 mph on Thursday, with higher gusts in squalls. But little change in strength was forecast through today.

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