Tenacious Isabel Swirls Toward East Coast
By ERIK SCHELZIG, Associated Press Writer
MIAMI - Hurricane Isabel churned in the Atlantic as a Category 5 storm early Sunday, still several days from land but on a course unpredictable enough to worry residents along a large stretch of the East Coast.
"It's looking more and more likely that this is going to be a big event for the eastern United States," National Hurricane Center (news - web sites) meteorologist Eric Blake said Sunday. "But it's so far out that you can't really pinpoint it."
At 5 a.m. EDT, Isabel had maximum sustained winds of 160 mph and was centered about 340 miles north-northeast of San Juan, Puerto Rico, moving west-northwest at 13 mph.
Forecasters' computer models predicted it would continue on that path into Monday, then turn toward the Carolinas, possibly making landfall Thursday or Friday somewhere in the Mid-Atlantic region. However, forecasters note that hurricanes can be unpredictable, and long-range forecasts have large possibilities for error.
Still, some East Coast residents were preparing for the worst.
Even with plywood at its highest prices in a decade, Steve Myers had a steady stream of customers looking for supplies to board up windows in and around Georgetown, S.C.
At the 84 Lumber he co-manages there, a half-inch-thick sheet now costs about $20, but that's "cheaper than a $300 window," Myers said.
In coastal Georgia, the Chatham County Emergency Management Agency encouraged residents to review their hurricane plans, which should include adequate supplies, updated insurance coverage and evacuation routes.
"It's still a long ways away (but) we have to prepare as if it's coming here," said agency director Phillip Webber.
South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford and other state officials were briefed Saturday by the state Emergency Management Division on emergency preparations. The state went on an elevated alert status Friday.
Water management officials in Florida were worried about some of the already-swollen rivers and lakes, because a direct hit from a hurricane could cause severe flooding.
The U.S. State Department issued a travel warning advising tourists to avoid the Bahamas because of the storm, and large ocean swells and dangerous surf conditions were forecast for the Leeward Islands in the northeastern Caribbean.
The last Category 5 Atlantic hurricane was Mitch in 1998, which killed about 11,000 people in Central America. The last two Category 5 hurricanes to strike the United States were Andrew in 1992 and Camille in 1969.
The Atlantic hurricane season began June 1 and ends Nov. 30.
