DATE: Sunday, September 7, 1997             TAG: 9709070113

SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A7   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   34 lines

HURRICANE ERIKA SLOWLY BUILDS, BUT IT'S EXPECTED TO STAY WELL OUT TO SEA

Hurricane Erika continued to slowly intensify Saturday as it moved north of the Leeward Islands, sparing residents a direct hit. And forecasters believe it will curve slowly to the north while well out to sea and far from the U.S. mainland.

At 5 p.m., the eye of Erika was about 245 miles east-northeast of San Juan and about 1,475 miles southeast of Norfolk.

Erika was moving west-northwest at about 10 mph.

``This motion is expected to continue tonight with a gradual turn to the northwest and a decrease in the forward speed on Sunday,'' said Lixion Avila, a forecaster at the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

Maximum sustained winds were near 85 mph with higher gusts in squalls, mostly north of the storm's center.

Doppler radar pictures from San Juan showed heavy local showers associated with the outer rainbands of Erika gradually approaching Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands Saturday evening. Weather conditions were expected to worsen overnight.

The National Weather Service in San Juan warned that residents of the northern part of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands should prepare for above-normal swells producing beach erosion, high surf and coastal flooding.

A trough line that moved over the eastern United States Saturday is expected to help steer the storm to the north over the next few days. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic

TRACKER'S GUIDE

[For complete graphic, please see microfilm]

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