Hurricane Earl is the fifth named storm and the third hurricane of the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season. Earl became a Category 1 hurricane on Sunday, August 29, 2010. Within days, the storm had become a powerful Category 4 hurricane, with sustained winds of 135 miles her hour as it moved across the Caribbean, dealing a glancing blow to parts of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center warned that Hurricane Earl would likely experience "fluctuations in intensity" as it drew closer to the East Coast of the U.S.http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/09/01/tropical.weather/index.html?hpt=T1 http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/09/01/tropical.weather/index.html?hpt=T1

A weakened Hurricane Earl dealt a "glancing blow" to the Outer Banks of North Carolina on the evening of September 2, 2010, and the following morning. Governor Bev Perdue said her state had "dodged the bullet," indicating that only minimal damage had been reported and no fatalities were reported.http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/09/03/tropical.weather/index.html?hpt=T1 The storm did knock out power and flood some roads along the Outer Banks islands.http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/09/03/national/main6832649.shtml?tag=breakingnews

On the morning of September 3, 2010, Hurricane Earl was downgraded to a Category 1 storm, with maximum sustained winds of around 85 miles per hour. Earl was located approximately 175 miles northeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and about 350 miles south-southwest of Nantucket, Massachusetts. The storm was moving north-northeast at 21 miles per hour.http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/text/refresh/MIATCPAT2+shtml/311452.shtml?

All eyes are on Hurricane Earl today as the storm draws ever closer to coastal New England.

Hurricane Earl's projected path was expected to continue to take the storm along the East Coast of the U.S. and very close to southeastern New England on September 3, 2010, as a weak hurricane.http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/refresh/graphics_at2+shtml/152008.shtml?3-daynl?large#contents Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center indicated that Hurricane Earl would likely stay about 100 miles off the coast of New Jersey and Long Island, New York. The storm was expected, however, to come very close to Cape Cod and Nantucket Island, Massachusetts.http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/09/03/national/main6832649.shtml?tag=breakingnews Preparations were underway along the East Coast, with the governors of Massachusetts and Rhode Island declaring states of emergency in anticipation of Hurricane Earl's arrival.http://abcnews.go.com/US/hurricane-earl-sideswipes-carolina-coast-northeast-braces-arrival/story?id=11549420

Because of the threat of a major hurricane passing extremely close to the coast, mandatory evacuation orders were issued for visitors on two North Carolina Outer Banks islands - Ocracoke and Hatteras Islands.http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gVWjsPEiqe1tEu2mhBIRaxxGi8owD9HV4G001 In addition, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell declared a state of emergency "in anticipation that Earl could shift and head for coastal communities as early as Thursday night." FEMA began sending supplies and resources to parts of the Carolinas on Tuesday, August 31, 2010, in anticipation of the storm.http://abcnews.go.com/US/hurricane-earl-marches-east-coast/story?id=11530137