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Hurricane headed for Carolinas

CHARLESTON (SOUTH CAROLINA): A storm in the U.S. southeast coast has strengthened into a hurricane and meteorologists said its meandering course could take a sharp turn toward land. Hurricane Ophelia watch was posted along a 482-km stretch from the Georgia-South Carolina line to North Carolina's Cape Lookout, meaning hurricane-force wind of at least 119 kmph was possible by Sunday evening, the National Hurricane Center said. North Carolina's Governor declared a state of emergency as the storm's track shifted northward with a forecast landfall on the North Carolina coast. The storm wasn't close enough to North Carolina that a decision had to be made on whether to order evacuations, said Eddie King, Pender county emergency management director. South Carolina officials said a decision would be made soon about whether to order evacuations. Ophelia was about 322 km southeast of Wilmington, North Carolina, and was drifting toward the northeast on Saturday evening, but forecasters predicted little movement for the rest of the weekend. If Ophelia makes landfall in South Carolina it would the third hurricane in 13 months to strike the State. Ophelia is the seventh hurricane in this year's busy Atlantic hurricane season, which began on June 1 and ends on November 30. The crew of an Air Force hurricane hunter airplane flying through Ophelia measured sustained wind of 129 kmph. It could strengthen a bit before an expected Tuesday landfall, said a meteorologist at the hurricane center in Miami.

AP

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