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Article published Aug 3, 2004
Hurricane warning issued for N.C. coast
BRUCE SMITH
Associated Press
CHARLESTON -- A hurricane
warning has been issued for the North Carolina coast as Tropical Storm Alex was
expected to pass near the Outer Banks today.Alex, the first tropical storm of
the Atlantic season, had maximum sustained winds near 60 mph as of 5 p.m. and
was forecast to grow into a hurricane in the next 24 hours. The warning was
issued for the North Carolina coast from Cape Lookout to Oregon Inlet.Alex did
not have a direct effect on Upstate weather, though the storm could have
contributed to increased moisture in the air and the direction that storms
traveled Monday night, according to information from the National Weather
Service.The rain was expected to taper off today to partly cloudy skies. Winds
could be about 10 mph in the morning, and highs in the lower 90s.The storm was
centered about 150 miles south-southwest of Wilmington, N.C., Tropical storm
force winds extended out 105 miles from the storm center and the storm was
moving north-northeast at 6 mph.A tropical storm warning remained in effect from
South Santee River in South Carolina to Cape Lookout, N.C. and from Oregon Inlet
to the Virginia state line.Larry Shaffer of State College, Pa., vacationing at
Ocean Isle Beach, just across the North Carolina state line, wasn't going to let
brisk winds and rain drive away his family, who have vacationed there for 13
years."We've got the whole family here, including the kids and grandkids," said
Shaffer, 63. "If it rains, the girls will go shopping and the rest of us will go
out to eat."Alex started as a tropical depression Saturday and, amid light
steering currents, spun in place off the South Carolina coast most of Sunday. By
midday Monday it began moving parallel to the coast of the Carolinas.Only two
hurricane seasons on record have a first tropical depression forming later than
July 31. But forecasters said a late start has no bearing on hurricane
activity.The National Hurricane Center on Monday was watching two other tropical
disturbances with the potential for developing into storms.Boaters around
Charleston were warned to be on the lookout for waterspouts. The storm brought
scattered showers along the coast as rain bands spun onshore. Surfers tried
their luck as the storm roiled the waves washing in at Folly Beach.The surfers
were also out farther north."It's been fun," said 20-year-old Matt Stuhr of
Ocean Isle Beach, loading his bright yellow surfboard into a Jeep Cherokee. "I
hope it gets better. I caught some pretty good rides this morning."Forecasters
warned swimmers about rip currents along the Southeast coast.Spencer Warren, 12,
of Louisville, Ky., had just started a weeklong vacation at Wrightsville Beach,
N.C., when two lifeguards had to help him when he got caught in a current on
Monday, The Star-News of Wilmington reported on its Web site Monday.The previous
day, lifeguards helped rescue nine swimmers."It's a hot summer day, so people
want to get into the water," said Bud Woodrum, a captain with Wrightsville Beach
ocean rescue. "But it's deceiving out there."------
Associated Press
Writer Paul Nowell in Ocean Isle Beach, N.C., contributed to this report.On the
Net:National Hurricane Center: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov