Sep 26, 2008 3:12 pm US/Eastern
Nor'easter Like Storm Brings Rain, Wind To Md.
OCEAN CITY, Md. (WJZ/AP) ―
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Ocean City prepares for a nor'easter like storm.
A storm that never quite gained tropical strength or a name over the Atlantic blew ashore with drenching rain Friday in the Carolinas, knocking out power and sending rain, gusty winds and high surf far up the Atlantic seaboard.
Though the storm hasn't caused any reported damages in Maryland and has moved out of the area for now,
Alex DeMetrick reports Ocean City really felt the impact of the storm over the last few days.
Gale force winds brought on the water in Ocean City's inlet and bay.
The rain ran into drains and flooding was expected on low-lying streets.
Gusts were strong enough to bounce large vehicles. and strong rip currents and surf closed the water to swimming.
The boardwalk remained open to a few hearty tourist and a handful of businesses, but sand began to cover the boardwalk, and that will have to be cleaned up before weekend tourists arrive.
"It's looking pretty bad. There's a lot of sand that's already been washed up, and I don't think this is going to be out of here any time soon," said Pat Christopher.
It may not look like a very promising beach weekend, but there still may be traffic backups on the way to Ocean City.
Wind warnings are in effect on the Bay Bridge, and as a result, there will be no two-way traffic on the westbound span.
That means motorists should expect eastbound delays, although traffic was running smoothly Friday morning.
The Maryland Transportation Authority reports sustained winds of 30 to 39 miles per hour around the bridge. People driving motorcycles or vehicles with trailers are advised to use caution
Baltimore Gas & Electric says more than 5,200 customers in central Maryland lost power during the storm Thursday.
Power had been restored for all but 600 of those customers by 10 a.m. Friday.
Howard County recorded the most outages -- about 2,300. Nearly 2,000 customers lost power in Anne Arundel County.
In Salisbury, WMDT-TV 47 was ready to switch from analog to digital broadcasting, but high winds ahead of the storm moving through the region delayed those plans.
WMDT-47 general manager Kathleen McLain says crews tried Wednesday morning to remove an analog antenna, but high winds at 600 feet forced them to return to the ground.
The Federal Communications Commission is requiring stations to change to digital by Feb. 17.
The station shut off its analog signal Sept. 22, but the old antenna remains. McLain expects work to resume Sunday and the antenna swap, a two-day process, should start Monday.
A small percentage of viewers are affected by the delay. WMDT broadcasts a low-frequency digital signal that can reach viewers in close range, and cable customers are not affected at all.
Weijia Jiang reports businesses took precautions in Annapolis.
It began raining just before 5 p.m. Thursday. Residents and business owners say they began preparing for the storm Wednesday.
The scene after Tropical Storm Hanna touched down a couple of weeks ago left a huge mess in Annapolis. And who can forget in 2003 when Hurricane Isabel left much of the city swamped.
Along the streets of Annapolis, sand bags were stacked in front of businesses to keep water from seeping inside.
"It can definitely hinder business, especially the foot traffic right here. But it's definitely a part of life when you live in a little seaside, waterfront town that's historic, you're going to get flooding," said a resident.
Boats were double anchored, but Coast Guard officials say others were determined to explore despite urgent warnings not to.
The city expects the tide to be one to three feet higher than normal. Residents are being asked to stay away from the water and stay inside if possible.
The storm worried forecasters but never gained tropical strength over the Atlantic, and it pushed across the Carolinas on Friday with scattered power outages and propelled rain and rough surf farther up Atlantic seaboard. Meteorologist Barrett Smith at the National Weather Service in Raleigh said the low pressure in the storm would continue to weaken as the center moved northward and out of North Carolina by Saturday.
Smith said no serious problems were reported from the rain or wind, which gusted to 40 mph early Friday.
Precipitation averaged 2 to 4 inches. About 2 p.m., the center of the storm was southwest of Charlotte.
The wet weather forced postponement of more than a dozen high school football games in central North Carolina.
At the Outer Banks, officials posted red warning flags on the beaches to keep people out of rough surf.
Smith said forecasters took the system seriously as it approached the coastline because it had potential to intensify quickly.
Although the center of the storm was well to the south, forecasters said it was so large that rain and some wind would be felt in the Northeast.
Small craft advisories, meaning strong winds and choppy seas, were issued from Savannah, Ga., to Maine with high surf advisories in some places.
"Much of the winds have diminished," said meteorologist Dave Loewenthal at the National Weather Service in Wilmington. "It's a very large system. It goes all up and down the eastern seaboard."
Forecasters turned their attention to Tropical Storm Kyle in the open Atlantic, south of Bermuda. The National Hurricane Center said Kyle could become a hurricane by Saturday as it moved north.
At 2 p.m. EDT, Kyle was centered about 445 miles south-southwest of Bermuda and moving north-northwest near 12 mph.
Kyle has top sustained winds near 60 mph. Its tropical storm force winds extend up to 205 miles from the center.
A tropical storm warning was in effect for Bermuda.
In the Carolinas, the storm knocked out power to about 3,600 utility customers.
A dozen houses were condemned in the Outer Banks town of Nags Head when waves exposed septic tanks, WRAL-TV reported.
Officials said wind-driven tides flooded NC Highway 12 at times on Hatteras Island.
Dare County spokeswoman Dorothy Toolan said damage assessment teams were headed to Hatteras Island and checking with towns and that "the sun is out." County schools opened for a half day.
NC Highway 12 on Hatteras Island was open, Toolan said, but still had water and sand on the roadway. She said the road would experience flooding at high tides.
Forecasters said the storm lacked the ingredients of a tropical system, but had looked enough like one that the National Hurricane Center sent aircraft into it several times to explore.
"This was very close to a tropical system," said Brandon Vincent of the National Weather Service. "Before it came inland, it had a pretty impressive radar impression that was reminiscent of a tropical storm."
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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