Hurricane Earl Re-Strenthens To Catagory 4 !!! [View All]

Earl strengthens to Category 4 storm
State of emergency declared from North Carolina to Maryland
Last Updated: Wednesday, September 1, 2010 | 6:40 PM ET

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Hurricane Earl has strengthened again to a Category 4 hurricane as it continues its path toward the U.S. East Coast.

The storm had top sustained winds of 217 km/hr as it threatened to bring heavy winds, rain and high waves and force thousands of tourists from two vacation islands in North Carolina.

The governors of North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland declared a state of emergency.

U.S. National Hurricane Center issued a hurricane warning at 11 a.m. ET that extended northward into Cape Henlopen, Del. An earlier warning had extended only from Bogue Inlet, N.C., to the North Carolina-Virginia border.

Forecasters predicted the core of the hurricane would pass east and northeast of the Bahamas on Wednesday.

As of 2 p.m. ET, Earl was churning 440 kilometres east of Abaco Island in the Bahamas and travelling at approximately 28 kilometres an hour.

It was expected to reach the North Carolina coast late Thursday and wheel to the northeast, staying offshore while making its way up the Eastern Seaboard.

But forecasters said it could move in closer, perhaps coming ashore in North Carolina, crossing New York's Long Island and passing over the Boston metropolitan area and Cape Cod.

That could make the difference between modestly wet and blustery weather on the one hand and a dangerous storm surge, heavy rain and hurricane-force winds on the other.

The storm could make landfall anywhere between Maine and Cape Breton, N.S., the Canadian Hurricane Centre said.

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More: http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/09/01/hurricane-earl-east-coast.html



Careful out there...

:grouphug: