Fleet readying for brush with Hurricane Earl - Navy News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Navy Times

Fleet readying for brush with Hurricane Earl

Navy ships in the Hampton Roads area remain prepared to sortie to avoid Hurricane Earl within 48 hours of an order to do so — a slightly scaled-back posture from the previous day — despite the National Weather Service’s Wednesday afternoon decision to upgrade its hurricane watch for most of the North Carolina coast to a warning.

The warning for what the Weather Service is calling a “dangerous and large” storm extends up to the state’s border with Virginia; a hurricane watch and tropical storm warning are now in effect for Norfolk, Chesapeake and Virginia Beach, collectively the heart of the immense Navy presence in the region. The forecasts were current as of 5 p.m. Wednesday.

A hurricane warning means that hurricane conditions — sustained winds of 74 mph or higher — are expected within 36 hours.

Earlier Wednesday, 2nd Fleet set Sortie Condition Charlie, which spokesman Lt. Brian Badura called a “step back” from the order issued Tuesday for ships to prepare to sortie within 24 hours of an order to get underway. He said late Wednesday that no additional changes in posture were expected despite the Weather Service’s forecast upgrade.

But the 2nd Fleet commander warned earlier that things could change quickly.

“Although the forecast for Hurricane Earl indicates it will pass offshore of the Hampton Roads area without the destructive winds that would necessitate our fleet to get underway, the storm can still be unpredictable and we should expect high winds,” Vice Adm. Daniel Holloway said.

The regional Weather Service office is now forecasting possible tropical storm or hurricane conditions in Hampton Roads for Thursday night and early Friday, with occasional heavy rains and winds gusting as high as 38 mph — a 12 mph increase in its forecast from earlier in the day.