Ophelia Weakens Slightly; May Head to Sea by Friday

urricane Ophelia weakened slightly as it moved along the North Carolina coast Thursday, and early indications were that the storm was not causing the severe flooding many feared, the Associated Press reported.

The storm was expected to head back out into the open Atlantic later in Thursday or early Friday after hitting the Carolina coast for 48 hours with high winds and heavy rain, AP reported.

There were no early reports of extensive major damage, but thousands of homes and businesses in the regionhad no electricity, AP said.

Because of its slow movement, Ophelia was expected to produce 3 to 5 more inches of rain along the coast, with a possibility of storm totals of up to 15 inches in some places, AP said.

Hurricane warnings covered about 220 miles of the coast from just north of Wilmington, N.C., to the Virginia border, while a tropical storm warning covered the mouth of Chesapeake Bay.