HATTERAS, N.C. – Tropical Storm
Gabrielle made landfall Sunday on
North Carolina’s Outer Banks, packing
50 mph winds and plenty of rain,
but not enough of a threat to scare
vacationers from the shore and surfers
from the beach.
“It’s a lot rougher out there, but
this is what we look forward to every
year,” said Derek Creekmore, 32, of
Chesapeake, Va., as he carried his
surfboard into tall, breaking waves
near Cape Hatteras. “We plan to stay
out here until we get tired.”
Although Gabrielle strengthened
slightly Sunday morning, it was a
weak tropical storm when its small
center made landfall along the Cape
Lookout National Seashore around
11:45 a.m.
While moving over Pamlico Sound on
Sunday afternoon, Gabrielle was expected
to take a sharp turn and reach Nags Head
around sunset before heading back out into
the Atlantic. At 2 p.m., the center of the
storm was about 45 miles west-northwest
of Cape Hatteras, headed north near 12
mph. Its maximum sustained winds were
close to 50 mph, with stronger gusts, and
it was expected to remain at that strength
for the next 24 hours.
Officials mostly preached caution
as they waited for Gabrielle to arrive
at the vacation hotspot. While
the National Park Service closed all
campgrounds on the Cape Hatteras
National Seashore and Gov. Mike
Easley put some swift water rescue
teams and National Guard units on
standby, officials didn’t order any
evacuations.
Gabrielle spun into the storm late Friday
after wandering in the Atlantic for several
days, caught along an old frontal boundary
that stalled about midway between the
Southeast coast and Bermuda. Forecasters
first labeled it a subtropical storm
– a hybrid system that takes power from
warm ocean waters but also forms from
warm and cold fronts colliding – before
classifying it a tropical system Saturday.
Forecasters said the storm’s greatest
danger would likely come from rough
seas.