…Gabrielle Moving Northward Across Eatern North Carolina…
…Rough weather on the Outer Banks…
FAST FACTS AS OF 4 PM CDT
LOCATION…35.7N/76.1W or 30 miles SW of Kill Devil Hills NC
MOVEMENT..N-12 mph
MAXIMUM WINDS…50 mph
CENTRAL PRESSURE…1006 mb/29.71 inches.
Tropical storm warnings remain in effect along the coast from Surf City NC to Cape Charles VA including the Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds.
Gabrielle will gradualy turn to a more northeasterly course as the storm recurves around a ridge of high pressure to the east. The center will pass just west of Manteo and Kill Devil Hills, where the Wright brothers took their historic first flight. It will remain a tropical for the next couple of days before it becomes extratropical heading out to sea.
Northerly shear has really been ripping the convection with the storm apart, but its circulation has remained tenancious. Top winds before landfall were probably 60 mph. They have fallen a bit to around 50 mph.
All of the really active weather with Tropical Storm Gabrielle has been on the south and southwest side of the center.
Heavy rain and thunderstorms have now moved onshore on the back side of the system along the SE North Carolina Coast. A good bit of lightning was involved.
In the past hour, Beaufort reported a peak wind of 37 mph. Heavy rain was falling with a SW wind at 27 gusting to 35 mph. Beaufort has picked up 1.96 in rainfall in the past six hours, including an inch in the past hour.
Hatteras was reporting cloudy skies with winds from the SSW at 30 gisting to 39 mph. A peak wind gust of 51 mph was reported at 2:27 p.m. CDT. Only light precipitation at Hatteras so far.
At the Diamond Shoals Light near Cape Hatteras, just before 3 p.m. CDT winds were averaging 40 mph from the SSW and waves had increased to 15 feet.
At the Cape Lookout C-Man Bouy, winds were averaging 28 mph from the SSW. The pressure ws rising. The lowest pressure observed was 29.75 inches.
Other 3 p.m. CDT reports included…
Kill Devil Hills…SE 16 G 25….
Manteo…SE 25 G 31…
New Bern…W 12 G 21…pressure 29.84…
The Weather Channel reporter at Frisco, NC was experiencing strong winds and a rising tide.
