Gabrielle washes ashore in N.C.

HATTERAS, N.C. - Tropical Storm Gabrielle washed ashore and crawled along the North Carolina's Outer Banks yesterday, but caused few problems and failed even to chase vacationers away from the beach.

Warnings of gusty wind and rain didn't stop Derek Creekmore, 32, who with surfing buddy Mark Carter drove to Cape Hatteras from Chesapeake, Va., to ride the tall, breaking waves brought in by the storm.

"It's a lot rougher out there, but this is what we look forward to every year," Creekmore said. "We plan to stay out here until we get tired."

Officials said there had been no requests for assistance, and that Gabrielle likely would be remembered mostly as an inconvenience.

"We'll be glad to help out if anybody needs it, but right now, we're not hearing anything. It's been kind of quiet," said Julia Jarema, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Crime Control and Public Safety.

Gabrielle brought gusty winds that howled at 50 miles per hour, churning up the Atlantic surf to the delight of surfers and kite boarders.

Despite that, the storm failed to dump much rain inland, where much of North Carolina is experiencing severe drought.

"We're glad we didn't have any flooding or wind damage, but the rain would have been nice," Jarema said. "The coast got some rain, but they were the ones with the least problems from the drought."

Forecasters expected it to pass over the Outer Banks near Nags Head last night on its way back out to sea.

A tropical storm warning remained in effect from Cape Lookout north to Cape Charles Light, Va. There was also a watch in the area extending to the New Point Comfort peninsula, along the Chesapeake Bay.

Officials preached caution throughout the day as Gabrielle moved through the vacation hotspot. They closed campgrounds on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore and put swift water rescue teams and National Guard units on standby. But no one was ordered to evacuate, and officials said the greatest danger was posed by rip currents threatening swimmers who ventured into the ocean.

"We had heavy surf, but you could tell from looking at it the currents were strong," said Dare County spokeswoman Dorothy Toolan. "People took the advice and stayed out of it today."

Officials in Dare, Hyde and Currituck counties, which cover most of the Outer Banks, said yesterday they had no reports of any water rescues tied to Gabrielle.

The National Weather Service said 1.5 feet of water from Pamlico Sound covered parts of Highway 12 near Salvo - a common spot for overwash - but that the roadway was still passable. While some spots did get some decent rain - nearly 8 inches in Beaufort - the storm generally failed to deliver.