Ivan Projected To Stall West Of Carolinas

GREENVILLE -- The latest projected path for Hurricane Ivan has the potential to create a considerable flooding event.

The National Hurricane Center says that once Ivan makes landfall, the storm could take three days to move 200 miles from northern Alabama to near the Tennessee/North Carolina/Georgia border by Monday afternoon.

Such a move would put the western Carolinas and northeast Georgia on the moisture-filled east side of the storm for as many as four days.

The National Weather Service issued an advisory late Tuesday, stating that sustained winds of 35 to 45 mph are expected in the mountains, with gusts as high as 60 mph possible. Forecasters are also warning of isolated tornadoes across the region Thursday night and Friday.

Forecasters point out that there is always an amount of uncertainty to predicting a storm's track, and conditions could change before the weekend.

None of the millions of dollars North Carolina has invested to update floodplain maps since Hurricane Floyd has reached the western third of the state damaged by Frances.

Floyd did $3.5 billion in damage in 1999, mostly in eastern counties. After that, legislators decided that the eastern part of the state should be the initial focus of the $41 million project to update the state's obsolete flood maps.

Rep. Wilma Sherrill of Buncombe County says she and others will now push for the estimated $5 million needed to begin mapping in Buncombe, Haywood and other hard-hit mountain counties.

The Army Corps of Engineers said Tuesday that it is releasing water from Lake Hartwell and Lake Thurmond to clear space in the lakes' flood control pools.

Hydrologists said that at this rate, the lakes should be near normal levels by Friday, but rain from Ivan could push water back into the flood control pools.

Local relief agencies are polling volunteers to determine their availability if shelters or assistance are needed.

BellSouth officials said the company has 500 technicians ready to go where needed, depending on where Ivan comes ashore.

"Our technicians have been working 12-hour shifts. Not only are we prepared for Ivan along the Gulf coast, we are prepared for Ivan in South Carolina," said Harry Lightsey, president of BellSouth in South Carolina.

Several high school football games have been rescheduled for Thursday evening at 7:30 p.m. in an effort to avoid complications from Ivan.

City of Asheville spokeswoman Lauren Bradley said emergency equipment including swift-water rescue boats is being strategically positioned throughout the area while city crews and emergency personnel are preparing to respond to predicted heavy rain, winds and flooding.

Crews are currently reinforcing recently-repaired sections of transmission lines near the North Fork Water Treatment Facility, and three floodgates at the reservoir are open due to the rising lake level and forecasted precipitation.

Much of South Carolina already is soaked from what was left of Hurricane Frances last week. Emergency officials worry it won't take much to push rivers out of their banks and pull trees from the moist soil.

Early estimates indicate the region could get 6 to 12 inches of rain from Ivan, while the N.C. mountains could see 10 to 15 inches, a number forecasters call conservative if the storm stalls.

What remained of Frances caused a record-breaking tornado outbreak in South Carolina last week. The four National Weather Service offices that cover the state reported 37 tornadoes in two days, including one each in Pickens and Union counties. South Carolina averages just 12 tornadoes a year.

Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Jeanne has formed east of Puerto Rico, but is not expected to impact the United States until next week at the earliest. Jeanne could become a hurricane Wednesday.

Stay tuned to WYFF News 4 and TheCarolinaChannel.com for the latest information.

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