a gust. A man was killed when his rowboat capsized in rough surf of ; his companion safely swam to shore. On the afternoon of August 29, Bonnie entered the Canadian Hurricane Centre's area of responsibility as a tropical storm, and passed south of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. Precipitation along the coast of Nova Scotia ranged from and winds gusted to around . Slightly higher gusts were reported off the coast. On Sable Island, the storm dropped of rainfall. An offshore buoy recorded a wave height of . Aftermath and observation Following the hurricane in North Carolina, 10 counties were declared federal disaster areas, while 30 counties became eligible for public and individual assistance. Shelters were opened in 11 counties, and the Raleigh-Durham International Airport briefly canceled all flights. To remove the tens of thousands of tires that washed ashore, hundreds of inmates from state prisons were sent to the Bouge Banks. Some of the tires were buried in sand, and could only be removed during low tide. About 700 more state prisoners were sent around the state to clear debris, and 39 inmate crews were deployed to help farmers salvage the severely damaged tobacco fields. In South Carolina, Horry County was declared a federal disaster area due to the damage. In Virginia, the cities of Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, and Virginia Beach became eligible for individual and public assistance programs. After the storm's departure, a thunderstorm temporarily halted power restoration by Virginia Power company crews. Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore allowed for over $11 million (1998 USD) in state and federal funds to help five cities recover. The storm also contributed to a 13.6% decline in home sales across the southern United States during the month of August by "discouraging potential home buyers" in coastal areas. Both during and after Hurricane Bonnie's onslaught, analysis of the storm was extensive; it was deemed "the most observed hurricane in history." When examined with Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite imagery, it was discovered that peak cloud tops surrounding the eyewall rose into the atmosphere, twice as tall as Mount Everest. This was the first time that TRMM had observed such a tropical cyclone structure, according to co-developer of the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale, Bob Simpson. The storm was also used for collection of tropical cyclone research data. For the first time in the Atlantic, a fleet of aircraft investigated the storm's upper-levels, while