Hurricane Bob Grows, Menaces Carolina Coast

MIAMI —  Hurricane Bob, packing winds near 75 m.p.h., was upgraded from a tropical storm Saturday and forecasters posted a warning for the North Carolina coast.

The hurricane was expected to move north-northwest, take a turn to the north and skirt the North Carolina coast before continuing north, said Bob Ebargh, a forecaster with the National Hurricane Center in Coral Gables, Fla.

Traffic was heavy late Saturday out of the Outer Banks, a series of narrow islands running along the northern half of North Carolina’s coast. The area is a popular weekend spot for beach-goers and sport fishermen.

State officials recommended that people cancel plans to visit the area today, and the National Park Service closed its campgrounds on the Outer Banks.

A hurricane warning was posted from Little River Inlet on the South Carolina-North Carolina border northward to south of Virginia Beach, Va., including Pamlico and Albemarle sounds. A hurricane watch was in effect from Virginia Beach northward to Cape Henlopen, Del.

The hurricane was located about 380 miles south of Cape Hatteras, N.C., and was moving at 5 to 10 m.p.h. It was expected to turn toward the north and increase in speed today.