Hurricane Gloria Shifts Course Toward Mid-Atlantic States

Hurricane Gloria shifted course slightly away from the Bahama Islands Tuesday night and pointed its 160 m.p.h. winds toward the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States.

“Long-range prediction models indicate the hurricane may turn and accelerate towards the central and northeastern seaboard Wednesday and Thursday,” hurricane forecaster Bob Case said. “Residents of the East Coast, particularly from the Carolinas to New England, are urged to monitor . . . this very dangerous hurricane.”

At 9 p.m. EDT, the hurricane was centered about 670 miles east of Miami and 830 miles south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, N.C. It was moving northwest at about 15 m.p.h. An Air Force plane flying into the storm reported wind gusts in excess of 160 m.p.h.

The National Hurricane Center classified Gloria as a “major Category 3 hurricane” on a scale of 1 to 5. A Category 1 storm is a minimal hurricane while Category 5 is reserved for the most powerful and dangerous systems.