
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, December 24, 1994                   TAG: 9412270096
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

WINTER STORM EASES, STILL THREAT TO COAST

A winter storm that was poised to blast Virginia's coast weakened Friday but forecasters warned that gusty winds, heavy rain and moderate flooding would be possible into today.

The National Weather Service had predicted that two low-pressure systems would collide, creating a powerful storm that could batter the Tidewater area with heavy surf and near-hurricane-force winds.

``It just didn't happen,'' said Mark Marchbank, deputy coordinator of emergency services in Virginia Beach.

The Weather Service later predicted a high tide of 6.3 feet in Virginia Beach late Friday night. That was down from an earlier forecast of 8 feet.

Eight-foot tides would cause severe flooding, Marchbank said, while 6.3-foot tides would mean moderate flooding.

Marchbank said the Sandbridge area south of the city likely would suffer the most damage because it was left vulnerable by a severe storm just before Thanksgiving. Further erosion from the new storm could cause a couple of beachfront homes to slide into the Atlantic, he said.

Skies turned cloudy and winds gusted up to 30 mph in the Hampton Roads area at mid-afternoon, and the Weather Service predicted heavy rain and northeast winds of 35 to 45 mph for Friday night. Modesto Vasquez, meteorologist for the weather service in Norfolk, said wind gusts of up to 60 mph were possible.

Vasquez said one low-pressure system that was expected to batter the area stayed too far off the coast. However, a second low was intensifying off the North Carolina coast and was creeping Virginia's way.

Marchbank said emergency services personnel would be on standby until the storm passes today, but he expected no serious problems.

The storm caused severe flooding Friday along the South Carolina coast, where water as deep as car windows was reported in sections of Myrtle Beach.

A fishing vessel that became disabled in 18-foot seas was rescued early Friday by a Coast Guard cutter off the Virginia-North Carolina coast. The Point Arena took the fishing vessel Storm in tow around 9 a.m. three miles offshore after the vessel floundered much of the night in waves whipped by 30- to 50-knot winds.

All three people aboard the fishing boat were safe.

Windy, rainy weather was forecast for other parts of the state today before conditions improve on Christmas Day.

by CNB