Hurricane Ophelia Reaches Carolina Coast

Wednesday, September 14, 2005 — Hurricane Ophelia hit the Atlantic coast of North Carolina Wednesday as a Category 1 storm with top winds of 85 miles per hour and the threat of flooding across the region to due heavy rains.
On Wednesday evening the storm was about 40 miles east of Wilmington, moving slowly northwest as it dumped up to 12 inches of rain in some areas.
The American Red Cross housed close to 700 people in dozens of area shelters across North Carolina and parts of Georgia as mandatory evacuations were issued in the Outer Banks and several other coastal counties. Some voluntary evacuations were issued further inland.
Hurricane warnings are still in effect for all of North Carolina to the border with Virginia, and a hurricane watch is in effect from the Virginia border north to Cape Charles, including the Chesapeake Bay.
Forecasters say the storm may north along the coast and impact parts of Virginia near the Hampton Roads area by Thursday.
Isolated tornadoes are possible over parts of North Carolina tonight as well.