Listless Ophelia Downgraded

Hurricane Ophelia was downgraded to a tropical storm again Monday as the indecisive weather system moved slowly off the coast, its outer bands of rain not quite reaching land.

Although this storm doesn't appear to be packing much of a punch, at this point no one is taking anything lightly,

"I think we're all waiting for something to happen," Steve King said as he secured his sea kayak against possible high wind and waves.

Ophelia's sustained wind speed slowed Monday morning to about 70 mph, 4 mph below the threshold for a hurricane, but it had the potential to regain hurricane strength over the next day or so, the National Hurricane Center said.

A tropical storm warning and a hurricane watch remained in effect from Cape Lookout south to Edisto Beach, S.C., the hurricane center said.

On Sunday, concerned about possible coastal flooding, Gov. Mike Easley ordered 200 National Guard soldiers to eastern North Carolina. The governor also ordered a mandatory evacuation of nonresidents from fragile Ocracoke Island on the Outer Banks, reachable only by ferry.

Although the storm was centered more than 200 miles from Wilmington, it kicked up heavy seas and lifeguards ordered swimmers out of the surf Sunday at Wrightsville Beach, east of the city.

"Now I know how a flounder feels. I was getting tossed all over the place," said Kathy Carroll, 37, of Wilmington.

With a history of destructive storms, New Hanover County has a well-rehearsed disaster plan. But Katrina, which was a powerful Category 4 hurricane before it made landfall in Louisiana and Mississippi, was on residents' minds even though Ophelia had grown only as strong as Category 1 as its wind speed rose and fell.

"We're cautiously watching (Ophelia). We're not giving up until it's north of us," said Warren Lee, emergency management director for New Hanover County.

While most folks aren't bothering to board up or hunker down, Bowers reports, Micky and Robin Williams aren't taking any chances. To them, a hurricane is a hurricane.

"We've been through quite a few. We're very aware and cautious with hurricanes," Micky Williams said.

At 11 a.m. EDT, Ophelia was centered 205 miles east-southeast of Charleston, S.C., and 260 miles south-southwest of Cape Hatteras, the hurricane center said. The storm was creeping toward the northwest at about 2 mph, forecasters said.

Ophelia had been following a wandering course since it became a tropical storm Wednesday off the coast of Florida.

It is the 15th named storm and seventh hurricane in this year's busy Atlantic hurricane season, which began June 1 and ends Nov. 30. Peak storm activity typically occurs from the end of August through mid-September.