
DATE: Saturday, September 6, 1997           TAG: 9709060349

SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A3   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   59 lines

HURRICANE ERIKA GAINS INTENSITY, HEADS TOWARD LEEWARD ISLANDS

For the first time since mid-July, forecasters are tracking a hurricane in the Atlantic.

Erika intensified unexpectedly on Friday, just hours after National Hurricane Center personnel said they doubted it would grow much before the weekend.

At 5 p.m., Erika was about 180 miles east of Antigua with sustained winds of 75 mph, just over hurricane force. And forecasters expect those to be near 90 mph by the start of the week.

Erika was moving west-northwest near 13 mph. That motion was expected to continue today.

Erika was more than 1,700 miles southeast of Norfolk on Friday.

``On this course, Erika will be centered near the northeastern Leeward Islands'' by this morning, said Ed Rappaport, a forecaster at the Hurricane Center in Miami.

While sustained winds were near 75 mph, with higher gusts northeast of the center, ``especially strong gusts are likely over mountainous areas of the Lesser Antilles,'' Rappaport said.

Storm tides up to 3 feet above normal are anticipated along Erika's path, with ``large and dangerous battering waves'' probable for the affected islands, Rappaport said. And rainfall totals of 5 to 10 inches are possible.

A hurricane warning was up for the Leeward Islands from Antigua and Montserrat northwestward through St. Martin. A tropical storm warning was posted for Guadeloupe and Dominica. A hurricane watch was in effect for the U.S. and British Virgin Islands and for Puerto Rico.