HYANNIS, Massachusetts--A weakened but still dangerous Hurricane Earl churned toward the Massachusetts coast on Friday, en route to Canada's Maritime provinces, after slapping North Carolina with heavy wind and rain.
Earl was downgraded to a Category 1 hurricane with sustained winds of 80 mph (130 kph) as it swirled away from the North Carolina shore, where it sideswiped the Outer Banks but was much tamer than originally feared. While Earl was not forecast to make U.S. landfall, it was expected to move "very near or just east of Cape Cod later tonight and on the coast of Nova Scotia on Saturday," the National Hurricane Center said.
Forecasters said Earl could soon diminish to a tropical storm, raising hopes across the Northeast for limiting losses during the Labor Day holiday weekend when airlines and other businesses bank on a final flow of summer tourist dollars. "Hurricane Earl remains large but is losing its punch," the National Hurricane Center said in its latest advisory.
The center warned that Earl--though no longer packing the power of its former ranking as a fearsome Category 4 storm on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale--remained a threat. People from the U.S. mid-Atlantic states to Canada's Maritimes battened down and braced for impact, while coastal residents further south mopped up.
"For the most part, it appears we have dodged a bullet," North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue said.
Minimal damage was reported other than beach erosion from fierce waves on North Carolina's Outer Banks low-lying barrier islands. Flooding up to 3 feet (1 meter) was reported in at least one island village, along with scattered power outages.
Waves surged over the road linking the islands, where 100,000 people were ordered to evacuate as Earl approached. But as the storm moved away, beaches and businesses reopened.
"We lucked out. We never lost power," said Mike Howe, a resident of Salvo on Hatteras Island.
A hurricane warning was in effect for Massachusetts, eastward around Cape Cod, including the resort islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick declared a state of emergency, an administrative step that speeds storm relief. The Coast Guard closed all ports in southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island until the storm passed.
Though relieved Earl was losing strength, some residents were taking no chances and started trickling into 11 emergency shelters opened along Cape Cod and on the islands of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard.
At 5 p.m. EDT, Earl's center was about 230 miles (375 km) south-southwest of Nantucket, Massachusetts, the hurricane center said. Earl was not expected to hit the United States directly but forecasters warned hurricane-force winds extended out 70 miles (110 km) from Earl's center. For the Massachusetts coast that could spell storm surges and large, damaging waves.