Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, August 18, 1995 TAG: 9508180066
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: FROM THE LOS ANGELES TIMES, AND THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: WILMINGTON, N.C. LENGTH: Medium
The unpredictable storm drifted slightly north, enough to worry residents and vacationers at Virginia Beach, Va., as it had feinted a day earlier at the Outer Banks, North Carolina's barrier island vacationland.
The threat from Felix, however, seemed to be dwindling. Although high seas and strong winds continued to harass much of the two-state coastline, the size of the storm shrank and a hurricane watch that had extended as far north as New Jersey was downgraded to a storm warning.
U.S. Weather Service forecaster James Ireland predicted that the hurricane ``will wobble or drift on a circular path northeast to due east of Hatteras for the next 72 hours,'' giving the coastline inclement weather but causing little property damage.
Virginia officials dropped emergency preparations and waited for the weakening, stationary storm to make the next move.
``We're reasonably confident that the storm is going to stay out there'' for the time being, Mark Marchbank, Virginia Beach's emergency services coordinator, said as the city closed its shelters and emergency operations center. ``We will continue to monitor the situation.''
The resort city withdrew a voluntary evacuation for areas along the oceanfront and the Chesapeake Bay. But swimming, surfing and wading still were banned at beaches.
Virginia Beach police arrested one man for illegal swimming after the man was spotted more than 100 yards into the ocean. A rescue effort was launched, but the man made it to shore on his own, said Mike Carey, a police spokesman.
John D. Stevens, 37, of Virginia Beach, was issued a summons and released, Carey said.
Felix still posed a threat of tidal flooding and beach erosion. Waves up to 15 feet crashed into Sandbridge, Va., a remote strip of houses that usually take the brunt of ocean storms.
However, no homes had been structurally damaged, Marchbank said. He said officials would assess beach erosion after the storm abates.
In neighboring Norfolk, city officials urged ``heightened awareness'' of potential flooding in the low-lying Willoughby and Ocean View areas. But its shelters also were closed.
Residents of Cape Hatteras, the easternmost point of the Outer Banks, were growing impatient Thursday with the uncertainty. One store owner spray-painted on the plywood that boarded up her windows: ``Felix, You Cat, Scram!''
One focus of erosion concern as Felix dawdled was Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. The lighthouse, the nation's tallest at 208 feet, is perched 80 feet from the surf, vulnerable to damage from wind and water.
The Weather Service's Ireland reported winds at Cape Hatteras were being clocked at only 17 mph to 22 mph, with gusts near 30 mph, down from more than 50 mph the night before.
Hurricane force winds, which earlier had extended 115 miles from the center of Felix, diminished to a radius of 90 miles. Their 75 mph velocity qualified Felix only as a Category 1 hurricane.
If Felix's winds should dip below 74 mph, the disturbance would lose its status as a hurricane and become a tropical storm.
North Carolina Highway 12, the only highway on the Outer Banks, reopened Thursday after being closed a day earlier because of high water, and mandatory evacuation orders were lifted. But high seas continued to pose the threat of beach erosion.
Authorities said a high-pressure zone from Pennsylvania to Texas that has kept Felix offshore might continue to keep it spinning in place for two or three more days.
It isn't mere good fortune that stalled Hurricane Felix, said the spokeswoman for Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network on Thursday.
``We wouldn't call it luck. We believe that prayer had a lot to do with it,'' said Patty Richardson.
Robertson, founder of the Virginia Beach-based CBN, led his followers this week in asking God to keep Felix from hitting land.
The Newport News Daily Press contributed information to this story.
by CNB