04:07 15Sep2003 DJ US East Coast Warily Eyeing Hurricane Isabel

DJ US East Coast Warily Eyeing Hurricane Isabel
MIAMI (AP)--Hurricane Isabel plowed toward the Atlantic Coast on Sunday
on a course that could slam the powerful Category 4 storm into the central
East Coast late this week.
"If it hits landfall ... it has the potential for a large loss of life
if we don't take it seriously and prepare for it," Dr. Max Mayfield,
director of the National Hurricane Center said on CNN.
Computer models predict that weather conditions over the East Coast
should prevent Isabel from turning back out to sea and missing land,
hurricane specialist Stacy Stewart said.
"Landfall along the U.S. mid-Atlantic coast somewhere between North
Carolina and New Jersey between four or five days (Thursday or Friday) is
appearing more and more likely," Stewart said. "Little or no significant
weakening is expected to occur until after landfall occurs."
At 11 p.m. EDT (0300 GMT), Isabel's maximum sustained wind speed was
155 mph -1 mph below the minimum for Category 5 -and down 5 mph from earlier
measurements. Experts had said it would be extremely unusual for Isabel to
maintain Category 5 strength as it moved north over cooler water.
The storm was centered about 850 miles south-southeast of Cape
Hatteras, N.C. Hurricane-force wind of at least 74 mph extended 115 miles
out from the center.
It was moving toward the west-northwest at about 13 mph, and was
expected to continue on that path into Monday, then turn toward the
Carolinas, possibly making landfall Thursday or Friday. Forecasters note
that hurricanes can be unpredictable, and long-range forecasts have large
possibilities for error.
In Washington, D.C., emergency officials were working on acquiring
additional sandbags, and planned to begin a public education campaign and
meet with other department and critical services leaders Monday.
"Then we're going to pray," said Peter LaPorte, director of the
Emergency Management Agency.
In the Hampton Roads areas of Virginia, many stores were cleaned out of
batteries, bottled water and other hurricane-readiness supplies.
The last Category 5 Atlantic hurricane was Mitch in 1998, which killed
about 11,000 people in Central America. The last two Category 5 hurricanes
to strike the United States were Andrew in 1992 and Camille in 1969.
The Atlantic hurricane season began June 1 and ends Nov. 30.
On the Net:
National Hurricane Center: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov

(END) Dow Jones Newswires
Monday, 15 September 2003 04:07:07
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