http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...m_050912114502

well at least its nothing compared to katrina. still...

No offense to North Carolina, but my Mom is in Myrtle Beach S.C. so I hope this one goes north rather than west.

Just saw Ophelia's been downgraded to a tropical storm... perhaps she'll go quietly.

I'm in Charlotte, NC today, waiting to see if she's going to visit before I leave tomorrow. Such fun...

*edit* Forgot to say that I hope your mom weathers it out well, Chewie...

[ 09-12-2005, 04:38 PM: Message edited by: Bungleau ]

<font color=skyblue>No worries about this little kitten of a rain cloud. My sister-in-law is just one hour from the Coast in the Wilmington area and she says that people are not even worried about it there. Sure, a few people are buying some groceries for the week, but if it were bad, she'd be on her way to Winston-Salem right now. In fact, when I called her yesterday to ask if she was okay, she did not even know what I was talking about. I said, "The hurricane". She said, "Oh yeah...that...don't worry about it. It's not big enough to be worth any more than a good rain and some fun for the surfers.".</font>

<font color=skyblue>An update to this hurricane; in quoting CNN says that NC has declared a state of emergency, and doing all it can to prepare along the coastal residential areas. I see this as a precautionary move, just because Katrina is fresh on everybody's minds and nobody in the local government wants to be called out for letting even the slightest mistake slip by uncaught. Therefore, its better to prepare too much than to not have prepared enough.

As to the location of it, CNN reports

"At 8 a.m. EDT, Ophelia was centered about 145 miles (233 kilometers) south of Wilmington and about 140 miles (225 kilometers) east-southeast of Charleston, South Carolina".

The experts say that some strength may come back into the storm before its over, but nobody I know that lives there is giving it much attention. It is just a tropical storm with the potential to become a Cat. 1. I know that the Outer Banks had to be evacuated because they are islands off the coast. Usually, those islands are what protects the Carolinas from disaster, as they slow Hurricanes down. Its a natural barrier of defence out there. Why anyone would want to live on one is beyond me, but...whatever.

If I hear any interesting news from my sister-in-law...I'll let you know.</font>