Earl to Come Within 100 Miles of the Outer Banks
A boat is battered by waves in Sopers Hole during the passage of Hurricane Earl near Tortola, British Virgin Islands on Monday, August 30. (AP Photo/Todd VanSickle)
Hurricane Earl is expected to pass within 100 miles of North Carolina's Outer Banks on Thursday night, unleashing pounding surf and damaging winds in the process. The storm's looming danger has prompted evacuation orders.
Earl will remain a dangerous major hurricane today as it parallels the Bahamas. Despite its distance to the Southeast, Earl's impacts on the region's coastline will begin to be felt today.
Wave heights and the threat of rip currents will increase along the Southeast coastline, making swimming treacherous. AccuWeather.com meteorologists are worried that today's sunshine and warm temperatures may tempt some swimmers to ignore the rough surf warnings and enter the water.
Earl will continue to creep closer to the Eastern Seaboard on Thursday, making swimming downright dangerous at all of the Southeast beaches with extremely hazardous boating conditions offshore.
Gusty winds will also increase along the North Carolina coastline during Thursday with Earl's outer bands of rain squalls set to arrive in the afternoon. On Thursday night into early Friday, however, is when the Outer Banks will endure the worst of Earl.
The AccuWeather.com Hurricane Center is expecting Earl to pass between 50 and 100 miles east of Cape Hatteras, N.C., on Thursday night as a Category 3 hurricane.
Given the current forecast track, Earl's most destructive winds and torrential rain should remain just offshore. However, sustained winds of near hurricane force should still graze the barrier islands.
Winds of that magnitude could cause some exterior structural damage and power outages, as well as make traveling on the bridges connecting the barrier islands treacherous.
In addition, waves between 15 and 25 feet will batter the Outer Banks. Those powerful waves could lead to beach erosion and may over wash roads and structures.
Conditions will worsen across the Outer Banks as well as places a bit farther inland if Earl shifts its track slightly to the west, a concern that the AccuWeather.com Hurricane Center is closely monitoring.
On the other hand, the weather will be less severe if Earl takes a more eastward jog than currently expected.
The looming danger of Hurricane Earl has forced officials to order the evacuation of tourists and residents off the barrier island of Ocracoke, according to WRAL-TV. The island is only accessible by ferry.
A number of visitor centers on the Outer Banks will also close, and visitors will be evacuated from Cape Lookout National Seashore.
Conditions will improve across the Outer Banks later on Friday as Earl departs and begins to graze the Northeast coastline. Massachusetts' Cape Cod would be next in line to endure the worst of Earl's fury.
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