Storm-soaked Carolinas under hurricane watch as Ernesto nears
WILMINGTON, North Carolina (AP) – Forecasters issued a hurricane watch for the North and South Carolina coasts yesterday, and Virginia’s governor declared a state of emergency as Tropical Storm Ernesto gained strength over the Atlantic.
The watch, stretching from South Carolina’s Santee River to Cape Lookout in North Carolina, means hurricane conditions, with sustained winds of at least 74 mph (119 kph), are possible within 12 hours.
For residents who have long weathered hurricanes in this vulnerable region, Ernesto’s wind was less of a concern than the threat of flooding. Thunderstorms have been drenching North Carolina for more than a day, and Ernesto could bring half a foot of rain.
Ernesto had been downgraded to a tropical depression over Florida, but gained strength and was upgraded as it moved over the warm waters of the Atlantic.
Ernesto lost much of its punch crossing eastern Cuba and made landfall late Tuesday on Plantation Key, Florida, with 45 mph (72 kph) wind – far from the 74 mph (119 kph) threshold for a hurricane that Ernesto briefly met Sunday.
