Hurricane Strengthening as It Heads for U.S. Coast

Hurricane Fran roared along at 115 mph Tuesday night and its winds were expected to get even stronger as it aimed to make landfall somewhere in Georgia or South Carolina Thursday night.

“Our best guess does have it making landfall anywhere between Savannah and Hilton Head,” said James-Lewis Free, a research scientist with the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

Fran was forecast to strengthen further into a deadly category 4 hurricane several hours before reaching land late Thursday, Free said.

“A category 4 storm is a major hurricane and serious actions need to be taken to protect life and property,” Free said. “Massive evacuation of residential areas will be necessary.”

A hurricane warning was issued for the northwestern Bahamas late Tuesday, and a hurricane watch was issued for the U.S. coast from Sebastian Inlet, in central Florida, north to South Carolina’s Little River Inlet.

A warning means winds of 74 mph or more are expected within 24 hours. A watch means there is a threat of hurricane conditions in 24 to 36 hours.

Much of the Bahamas, a mecca for American gamblers and other vacationers, was bracing for a possible hit even though Fran’s center was passing north of the islands.

Fran’s winds jumped quickly from 85 mph early Tuesday to 115 mph, prompting the U.S. Navy to send ships to sea for safety. Disaster officials fretted that people may not take the threat seriously.

“Our concern is that the public may become less responsive to evacuation orders,” said Joe Farmer, a spokesman for South Carolina’s Emergency Preparedness Division, which was gearing up operations Tuesday.

“We recognize that as the public is exposed to more and more of these, the need for us to reinforce this message is greater.”

At 11 p.m. EDT, Fran was centered about 255 miles east of Nassau, Bahamas. It was moving west-northwest at 12 mph.

Whitecaps in the water off San Salvador island in the Bahamas forced Club Med to declare its beach off limits. Residents throughout the country were told to stay indoors.