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Many weather-tested Outer Banks residents sniffed at a weakening Hurricane Isabel, but forecasters warned that it still had to cross the warm waters of the Gulf Stream, which one expert called "high-octane fuel" for the still dangerous storm.

Multiple breakwaters built to halt erosion, line the coast of the Willoughby Spit area of Norfolk, Va.,Sept. 16, 2003. Willoughby Spit was created by a Hurricane decades ago and will have to withstand the expected Thursday arrival of Hurricane Isabel.  [AP]

Isabel weakened from a Category 5 monster with 160 mph winds to a strong Category 2 early Wednesday, with sustained winds near 110 mph. Up to 90,000 residents along the North Carolina coast were urged to evacuate before the storm makes its expected landfall early Thursday along the Outer Banks.

Forecasters predicted little change in strength prior to landfall for Isabel, the biggest storm to hit the region since Hurricane Floyd in 1999.

Joe Hardison was prepared to leave his houseboat on Bogue Sound in Morehead City if Isabel had been packing winds of 120 mph or more. But now he figures he'll stay aboard the 35-foot craft and ride it out, as he did Hurricanes Hugo, Fran, Bertha, Bonnie and others whose names he can't even remember.

"We have mullet blows that are that hard," said the 59-year-old air conditioning man, who has stocked the vessel with 120 pounds of ice, 50 gallons of water and a half gallon of rum. "If (the boat) breaks loose, it's going to run aground somewhere. If it does, I'll step off."

Coastal residents from South Carolina to New Jersey boarded up homes and businesses and stocked up on batteries, water and other supplies. Colleges and universities in eastern Virginia, including the College of William & Mary, said they would close Wednesday for the rest of the week, and ordered students to leave.

"People still need to understand this is a very formidable hurricane," said Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami. "Its track has been very consistent."

North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley declared a state of emergency, allowing him to use the National Guard and also seek federal disaster relief after the storm passes. Thousands of tourists and others abandoned parts of North Carolina's Outer Banks as rough surf pounded the thin, 120-mile-long chain of islands.

By Tuesday evening, grocery stores and restaurants were closed or shuttered and the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse was barred to visitors. The main beach highway, N.C. 12, was unusually barren of traffic and the beaches nearly desolate.

"Even a lot of old salts are bailing out," Brian Simmons said as he placed plywood across the window of Stoney's Seafood in Avon. "I don't know if it's some vibe they feel or something."

But some hearty residents treated the evacuation orders as just a suggestion.

"It's easier to stay on the island," Margie Brecker said as she and her husband boarded up their Christmas shop in Rodanthe near North Carolina's Cape Hatteras and prepared to hunker down. "That way, we are right here when it's time to clean up, and we're able to help others."

David Kidwell, a 64-year-old retiree, was staying put at his home in Kitty Hawk.

"If it was a 5, I'd be gone. If it was a 4, I'd be gone. But right now it's looking like a 2 or less," he said. "That's just nothing more than a big nor'easter as far as I'm concerned."

Mayfield reminded that Floyd was a Category 2 storm that caused up to $4.6 billion in damages and 56 deaths in the United States. After hitting land, Isabel could also spread heavy rain — 6-10 inches, Mayfield said — from North Carolina all the way to New England.

At 2 a.m. EDT, Isabel was about 480 miles southeast of North Carolina's Cape Hatteras, moving northwest at around 8 mph.

A hurricane warning was in effect from Cape Fear, N.C., northward to the North Carolina/Virginia state line. Northward from there, a hurricane watch was in effect to Chincoteague, Va., including Chesapeake bay and the tidal Potomac. A hurricane warning means hurricane conditions are possible within 24 hours.

About 6,000 military personnel and their families on or near Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, Va., were ordered to leave.

Navy ships manned by 16,400 sailors headed out to sea from Norfolk, Va., and Earle, N.J., to ride out the storm and keep from being battered against their piers. Military aircraft were flown to airfields inland.

In Atlantic City, N.J., Miss America Pageant officials said they were prepared to postpone Friday's Boardwalk parade and even the pageant itself on Saturday, if necessary.

Isabel kept home-improvement stores bustling as people bought everything from plywood to generators to chain saws. Lowe's estimated it sold 10,000 generators in nine days to coastal residents, and The Home Depot said it had trucks coming in from as far as Toronto and Texas to help meet demand.

In Maryland, National Guard troops began preparations Wednesday after Gov. Robert Ehrlich declared a state of emergency the day before.

"Flooding could become a major problem for us, especially in low-lying areas," said Ed McDonough, a spokesman for the Maryland Emergency Management Agency. "We had an unusually heavy rainfall this year and the ground is saturated. There's just nowhere to put the water."

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