Hurricane Earl threatens U.S. East Coast

MIAMI (Reuters) – Hurricane Earl churned toward the North Carolina coast of the eastern U.S. seaboard on Tuesday after lashing Puerto Rico and the northeast Caribbean islands with winds, rain and waves, the National Hurricane Center said.

The forecast track of Earl, the second major hurricane of the 2010 Atlantic season, showed the fringes of the powerful Category 4 storm clipping the barrier islands of North Carolina's Outer Banks early on Friday and threatening the densely populated coast northward from there to New England.

A hurricane watch could be posted by Tuesday night for the mid-Atlantic coast, alerting residents to expect storm conditions within 72 hours, the forecasters said.

Barry Baxter, a hurricane center meteorologist, said forecasters had nudged the storm's track slightly to the west overnight but still had it narrowly missing a direct full-on hit to the U.S. coast.


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