My Name Is Earl: Hurricane Weakens Still Threatens East Coast

Hurricane Earl’s winds weakened to 125 mph on Thursday but the Category 3 storm was still blowing toward North Carolina, putting the Eastern Seaboard up to Maine on alert for a Labor Day weekend pounding by waves, gales and rain.

A hurricane warning for the tip of Massachusetts, including Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, joined earlier warnings and watches for hurricanes or tropical storms that stretch from North Carolina up to near the Canadian border.

At 2 p.m. ET, the center of Earl was about 245 miles south of Cape Hatteras, N.C., and was moving north-northwest at about 18 mph.

With Earl closing in, Federal Emergency Management Agency chief Craig Fugate said there was no longer time to wait on the next forecast to see how close the eye of the storm might get to shore.

“They really need to focus today on what they’re going to do before the storm gets there,” Fugate said. “Implement your plans and be ready to heed evacuation orders.”

With the storm expected to start hitting North Carolina later in the day, officials expanded mandatory evacuation orders across new areas of the state’s low-lying barrier islands.

The orders affect all visitors throughout Dare County as well as residents and visitors to the popular town of Nags Head.

Mandatory evacuations, similar to those already in effect for Hatteras Island and Ocracoke Island, were also ordered for the beach communities at Morehead City, authorities said.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami issued a tropical storm warning early Thursday for the coast of Long Island and a hurricane watch was issued for areas of Massachusetts. A hurricane warning was already in effect for the North Carolina coast.

Canadian officials also put parts of the Nova Scotia coast under a tropical storm watch.

Hurricane winds were spread 90 miles from the eye and widening, said Bill Read, director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami. Read said the eye of the storm will likely remain about 30 to 75 miles east of the Outer Banks, meaning at the closest point of approach, the western edge of the eyewall could impact Cape Hatteras, with huge waves, beach erosion and maybe some property damage from the waves.

“They’re going to have a full impact of a major hurricane,” Read said.

There will be a similar close approach for the eastern tip of Long Island, Rhode Island, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket.

“They’ll be facing a similar scenario that North Carolina is facing today,” Read said. “And it will be bigger. The storm won’t be as strong but they spread out as they go north and the rain will be spreading from New England.”

That will mean strong, gusty winds much like a nor’easter, and because leaves are still on the trees, there could be fallen trees or limbs and downed power lines.

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