Tropical US storm gathers strength

Tropical Storm Gabrielle strengthened slightly today as the storm headed toward North Carolina’s Outer Banks, but its rain and winds were not expected to inflict much punishment as it slogged across the state’s famous chain of barrier islands.

Forecasters said Gabrielle carried top sustained winds of about 50 mph today, and the storm could still get a touch stronger – though not to hurricane level - before moving across the Outer Banks. After a brief landfall over the string of barrier islands and Pamlico Sound, Gabrielle was expected to take a sharp turn back into the Atlantic.

“People are taking elementary precautions,” said Robert Raborn, the dockmaster at Anchorage Marina on Ocracoke Island.

“Boats that can be hauled out are being hauled out. Some extra storm lines are being put on. It’s not expected to be any worse than the average winter storm.”

As of noon today, Gabrielle’s centre was located about 30 miles south-southeast of Cape Lookout and was moving slowly – about 10 mph – to the north-northwest.

“There’s been some minimal strengthening this morning, but it’s not much, and we don’t expect it will gain much more strength,” said Chris Collins, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Morehead City.

Forecasters issued a tropical storm warning for the North Carolina coastline north of Surf City through the Outer Banks and to the Virginia border. A tropical storm warning was also issued northward to Cape Charles Light, Virginia, along the Atlantic Coast, and a watch remains in effect for the area extending to New Point Comfort peninsula, along the Chesapeake Bay.

Local officials urged residents and visitors at the holday hotspot to secure loose items and to stay indoors as the storm blows through, and the National Park Service closed all campgrounds on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley put some swift water rescue teams and National Guard units on standby, but officials did not order any evacuations.

Gabrielle spun into the storm late on 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.

Gabrielle’s first showers reached the coastline late last night. Forecasters said the storm could produce a storm surge of up to 3ft with 1 to 3 inches of rain falling in coastal areas and up to 5 inches in isolated spots. Some ocean overwash on N.C. 12 – the main road along the Outer Banks – and beach erosion were also expected.

The rain will be welcome in North Carolina, where all 100 counties are facing drought conditions – 91 in a severe drought or worse.