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Carolinas hunker for Ophelia soaking

After meandering at sea for days, the storm gathers force and appears ready to move ashore.

WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH, N.C. - Vulnerable islands were evacuated and mainland schools were closed Tuesday as Ophelia strengthened to a hurricane and wobbled closer to land with a threat of flooding rain.

The National Hurricane Center upgraded the storm's status Tuesday evening, saying maximum sustained winds had reached 75 mph. The center said further strengthening was possible.

"I don't really want to mess with it," Bruce McIlvaine of Logan Township, N.J., said as he packed to leave the Outer Banks' Hatteras Island before his vacation ended. "You're on a spit of land a dozen miles into the ocean."

Others were nonchalant, following the lead of many longtime residents who were staying put.

Brenda and Rich Hooser, who moved to Nags Head from Winston-Salem three weeks ago, strolled hand-in-hand through the surf.

"All the locals - none of them leave," Rich Hooser said. "If it's not over 125 (mph), they don't go anywhere."

A hurricane warning extended from the South Santee River in South Carolina north to Oregon Inlet at Pamlico Sound in North Carolina, meaning hurricane conditions were expected within 24 hours.

A hurricane watch and tropical storm warning were in effect from the Oregon Inlet north to the North Carolina-Virginia line and southward from the South Santee River to Edisto Beach in South Carolina.

After taunting coastal residents for days, the storm appeared ready to move ashore, as heavy rain battered South Carolina's northern coast and the beaches of southeastern North Carolina.

In Carolina Beach, south of Wrightsville Beach, officials reported a foot of water on one road due to heavy wind and a high tide.

Unlike Hurricane Katrina's devastating charge at the Gulf Coast, the week-old Ophelia had been following a meandering path, making predictions of its landfall difficult. The hurricane center's forecasts showed it running along the coast, then veering through Pamlico Sound, crossing the Outer Banks and back out to sea.

Its slow movement meant heavy rain could linger over land, possibly causing serious flooding. The hurricane center said as much as 15 inches of rain was possible in eastern North Carolina.

At least six North Carolina counties ordered mandatory evacuations of some areas and eight others had voluntary evacuations.

Schools were closed in several coastal counties in both North and South Carolina, while classes were canceled at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and East Carolina University in Greenville.

North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley said coastal residents should be prepared to go without power for two to three days.

"The beaches we expect to take a real beating," Easley said. "The bottom line is we're definitely going to get flooding, not just on the coast but in low-lying areas as the rivers swell from the storm surge itself."

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford called for a voluntary evacuation of oceanfront and riverside areas in the northeastern part of his state. Virginia Gov. Mark R. Warner declared a state of emergency.

At 11 p.m., Ophelia was centered 115 miles east of Charleston, S.C. The storm was stationary, but a gradual turn toward the north was expected today, the hurricane center said.

[Last modified September 14, 2005, 02:15:34]