Eastern Shore of Va

[tazdevil]

If Isable goes up the Chesapeake Bay, how will the Eastern Shore of Va be effected? The Eastern Shore is only 7 miles wide at its widest point, and I live one mile away from the Atlantic. Do I evacuate?

[JCT777]

I would consider evacuating on Wednesday if Isabel is a Category 3 hurricane at that point.

[ncweatherwizard]

If Isabel goes up the Chesapeake Bay, you will be fine because it would be inland before then. And if it stays offshore, it has shear to contend with. Keep an eye out and don't get caught off guard, but I doubt you will need to evacuate. An advantage you have of course is that you can wait until the last minute to evacuate, because they will cut off traffic from the Bridge-Tunnel, and you could go north quicker if you haven't thought about that yet. I would say Wed. night iff Isabel is major---unlikely.

[Lindaloo]

I would consider evacuating on Wednesday if Isabel is a Category 3 hurricane at that point.

Good advice John. A CAT 3 is just as dangerous and should not be taken lightly.

[tazdevil]

What about the wind? We will be on the stronger side of the storm.

[JetMaxx]

A lot depends on 1) how strong the hurricane is, and 2) how close does it come to you...

Being on the eastern shore, you'll see some nasty winds, high tides, and coastal flooding simply because of the tight pressure gradient between Isabel and strong high pressure offshore....

Isabel is a large hurricane, so even if landfall occurs near Hatteras or Ocracoke as a 110 mph cat-2 (and I believe it will be a cat-3), IMO you'll likely see winds gusting to or in excess of hurricane force...along the beaches south of Ocean City, MD.