Breaking Storm NewsNorth Carolina, USA
RALEIGH, N.C. Sept 9 (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Gabrielle buffeted the North Carolina coast on Sunday but was expected to turn back out over the Atlantic Ocean without strengthening into a hurricane, U.S. forecasters said.
The blustery core of the storm came ashore along the Cape Lookout National Seashore shortly before noon, kicking up the surf and bringing scattered showers to the barrier islands known as the Outer Banks, forecasters at the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
Gabrielle was the seventh named storm of the 2007 Atlantic hurricane season and had top sustained winds of 50 mph (85 km per hour). It was about 45 miles (75 km) west-northwest of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, at 2 p.m. (1800 GMT).
