Williamsburg area prepares for Hurricane Dorian

With skies darkening Thursday afternoon, Historic Triangle residents were getting ready for Hurricane Dorian's arrival.

Though some of the initial effects of the storm could be felt in the Williamsburg area Thursday afternoon, the National Weather Service anticipated the Category 3 hurricane would bring its highest winds and heaviest rains to the area late Thursday night into Friday. The area is under a tropical storm warning, and it's expected there will be more than a couple inches of rain as well as wind gusts as high as 45 miles per hour on Friday, according to an NWS forecast on Thursday afternoon.

With Dorian looming, everyone from archaeologists on Jamestown Island to motorists at gas stations were preparing to weather the storm.

Rain is not the main concern for Historic Jamestowne. For the waterfront historic site, the threat of a storm surge means that securing archaeological sites, buildings, equipment and vehicles is a top priority, said Danny Schmidt, Jamestown Rediscovery senior staff archaeologist.

"It's something we need to take seriously, but (Dorian is) no Isabel and that's the benchmark for nearly any worse-case scenario," he said.

While the Archaearium, Historic Jamestowne's archaeological museum, was built post-Isabel and is protected from the surge, other buildings like the Dale House Cafe must be sandbagged. The Memorial Church, which closed early Thursday along with the Glasshouse to prepare for Dorian, had its excavation sites and doors sandbagged, said Sean Romo, Jamestown Rediscovery senior staff archaeologist.

"We want to direct water away from the archaeological work," he said. "And since many of them are also up against the church, we want to direct (the water) away from the church as well. On Thursday afternoon, preparations began to protect the inside of the church as workers put down plastic and sandbags to keep water out of the building and to protect its structure.

"We don't anticipate having a significant amount of water entering the main church," he said.

York County resident Mark Shafer filled up three spare gasoline canisters Thursday afternoon at the Wawa on Merrimac Trail as a precaution before the storm hits. He said he already stopped at a grocery store to stock up on the essentials, but wanted to get gasoline just in case.

Julie Beattie, the Wawa's general manager, said fast sellers so far include water, gasoline, tobacco and, to a lesser extent, alcohol.

"If you think about it, you can lose power for a minute or two, or you can be out for a week depending on what's going on, so with that, people can't go out and get their necessities," she said.

Locals looking for last-minute hurricane supplies shouldn't have any issues as stores such as Walmart and Food Lion have stocked up on water and propane.

Though there's been increased demand for water, Rochambeau Drive Walmart Manager John Page felt confident his store wouldn't run out.

"It hasn't been as extreme as it has in the past," said Page, though he added things can change quickly depending on the forecast. The store has prepared extra staffing for an evening rush.

Managers at the Richmond Road Food Lion said there hasn't been much of an increase in traffic Thursday afternoon. The store is close to William and Mary's campus, and students don't usually stock up on hurricane supplies as much. Just to be safe, the store stocked up with eight pallets of water.

"We normally don't lose power because we're on the grid of the old hospital," said JoAnn DeBolt, a manager at the store.

She said she expects to see more local people come through the store Friday as hurricane conditions pick up.

Staff writers SaraRose Martin, Madeline Monroe and Rodrigo Arriaza contributed to this report.

Jack Jacobs, 757-298-6007, [email protected], @jajacobs_

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