Hurricane Earl

Looming close to the very close to the Outer Banks, NC

http://www.accuweather.com/blogs/news/story/36521/hurricane-earl-100mph-winds-to-1.asp

Winds up to 100 mph will slam the Outer Banks of North Carolina tonight as Hurricane Earl brings damage, flooding, and rough surf.

Earl remains a powerful Category 4 hurricane offshore of the Southeast. The AccuWeather.com Hurricane Center gives the storm's latest statistics, including its proximity to the coastline.

Hurricane Earl began to divert off its recent northwestward track Wednesday. That trend will continue into tonight, sparing most of North Carolina from a direct hit.

However, Earl is a large storm with hurricane-force winds extending out about 75 miles from its all-important western side. Earl will slam the Outer Banks during a several-hour period tonight as it passes just to the east. The eye may pass just to the east of Cape Hatteras.

Conditions will deteriorate today as Earl approaches. As today progresses, Earl's outer rain bands and tropical storm-force winds will begin plaguing the Outer Banks. Waves will also build further, reaching massive heights by sunset.

Earl's passage will not go unnoticed across the rest of the Southeast coastline today as rough surf pounds the beaches. The battering waves and high rip current danger will make swimming extremely dangerous.

The AccuWeather.com Hurricane Center expects Earl to track about 50 miles east of Cape Hatteras tonight. Earl will still be a major hurricane at that time with maximum sustained winds of at least 111 mph.

Given the forecast track of Earl, its most torrential rain and destructive winds will remain just east of the Outer Banks. However, a brief wobble to the west would bring these severe impacts onshore.

The current track of Earl still puts the Outer Banks in line to be pounded with a period of hurricane-force winds late tonight into early Friday morning.

Winds of that magnitude could cause some exterior structural damage and power outages, as well as make traveling on bridges connecting the barrier islands extremely dangerous.

In addition, waves between 20 and 24 feet will batter the Outer Banks, with a storm surge of 3 to 6 feet expected. The powerful waves are expected to cause beach erosion and significant over-wash.

Bands of rain squalls will begin this afternoon and become numerous over the Outer Banks this evening. Rainfall will amount to 2 to 4 inches into Friday morning.

The danger of Hurricane Earl has prompted evacuation orders for parts of the Outer Banks. A total of 35,000 people on the islands of Hatteras and Ocracoke have been told to leave, according to the Associated Press.

The effects of Hurricane Earl will not be limited to just the Outer Banks.

Tonight into Friday, a few outer rain bands and tropical storm-force winds up to 60 mph will spread over the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, including Norfolk and eastern North Carolina, east of Rocky Mount. Some downed trees and power outages may result.

Conditions will improve across eastern North Carolina as Friday progresses and Earl heads northeastward, grazing the New England coast. Southeastern Massachusetts through the islands off Cape Cod would be next in line to endure the brunt of Earl's fury.

Expert Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski contributed to the content of this story.