Virginia Beach began feeling the rain and moderate winds around 6 a.m., but a spokeswoman for the city's emergency operations center said no problems had been reported and only three homes were without power.

"We're all hunkered down but so far there's really nothing happening," she said. Conditions were expected to reach their worst in Virginia Beach by early afternoon.

The worst of the storm already had passed the Outer Banks of North Carolina by 9 a.m. without causing any significant damage, said Sandy Sanderson, emergency services coordinator for Dare County, N.C., which includes most of the Outer Banks.

"It's been a quiet little storm," Sanderson said. "We're getting some rain we needed. It's just a good day to stay inside, and tomorrow's supposed to be beautiful."

He said some wind gusts of 55 to 60 mph were reported on Hatteras Island early this morning, but that winds had died to 25-30 mph. No flooding occurred on the barrier islands because of the direction in which the winds were blowing, Sanderson said.

Farther south in North Carolina, a kite-surfer was reported missing but later turned up unharmed. Kite-surfers often challenge the big waves in advance of storms.

-- Bill Geroux