THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, September 28, 1996 TAG: 9609280226
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 30 lines
Isidore is a monster without a victim.
The storm became the fifth major hurricane of the 1996 Atlantic hurricane season, with sustained winds of 115 mph and gusts to 130 mph. But there's nothing but open ocean in its path.
And it appears the storm will continue on a harmless path that will eventually take it into colder waters where it will die.
That's good news for the U.S. East Coast which has weathered several hits already this season.
At 5 p.m., the center of Isidore was about 1,180 miles west of the Cape Verde Islands - 2,580 miles from Norfolk - moving northwest near 15 mph. A gradual turn to the north is expected today, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.
Satellite images on Friday indicated that maximum sustained winds had increased to 115 mph, making Isidore a Category 3 storm on the five-tier Saffir/Simpson scale. ``The hurricane has a compact and well-formed eye,'' indicative of a powerful storm, the Hurricane Center said.
Hurricane force winds of 74 mph or greater extended up to 40 miles from the center and tropical storm force winds in excess of 39 mph extended out up to 115 miles.
Some fluctuations in intensity are likely today, the Hurricane Center said.
KEYWORDS: HURRICANE ISIDORE by CNB