East Coast bases prep for Hurricane Earl - Marine Corps News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Marine Corps Times

East Coast bases prep for Hurricane Earl

Aircraft have been secured and non-essential personnel sent home early at Marine Corps installations in North Carolina, as Hurricane Earl shimmied off shore up the East Coast.

The Category 3 hurricane was moving north at 21 mph in the early afternoon and packing winds of 125 mph, forcing the evacuation of millions from North Carolina’s Outer Banks.

It was uncertain if Earl would make a direct hit on land, but the more than 200 aircraft at Marine Corps Air Station New River and close to 90 aircraft at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point had either been chained down or moved into hangars.

All of the installations remained open.

At Camp Lejeune, New River and Cherry Point, non-essential personnel were allowed to leave at 3 p.m. and given a 9 a.m. reporting option for work on Friday. Defense Department schools will open two hours late.

During hurricane season, June 1 to Nov. 30, East Coast Marine Corps installations maintain a “destructive weather condition scale” between one and five, five being condition normal and one indicating the highest level of emergency readiness.

At Lejeune, conditions were set at four. At the air stations — where the potential for high winds could cause damage to aircraft — conditions were set at two.

“We’re expecting potentially destructive winds within the next 24 hours which could significantly affect aircraft,” said 1st Lt. Kristen Dalton.

In the past, when the threat of a hurricane posed a more severe threat of making landfall, aircraft would be flown off the base, Dalton said

Installations websites list telephone hotlines and links outlining weather preparedness.

Go to http://www.nhc.noaa.gov for more details on Hurricane Earl.