Hurricane Earl

[Klep]

Hurricane Earl is still a major Category 4 storm and is currently nearing North Carolina.  While not currently projected to make a direct hit on land before Nova Scotia, Earl is likely to make close passes to both the Outer Banks in North Carolina and Cape Cod in Massachusetts (as a cat 2 storm), and both are currently under a hurricane warning.  If you live anywhere along the Atlantic coast, but particularly if you live in those two areas, pay very close attention to this storm, make preparations to deal with it, and be ready to evacuate if need be.

[Juggernaut GO]

I'll be too busy looting.

[FlyFlySideOfFry]

Since my life completely revolves around MtG I thought this was a SCD for a new card. Needless to say I was dissapointed.

[M.Solymossy]

This is serious to anyone in that area.  This has potential to be Level 5 when it hits. 

[Demonic Attorney]

I'm pretty close to the Cape in Mass., and everyone here is treating this like it's a non-issue.  The government is firing up the usual machine of declaring a state of emergency, putting reserve staff on standby, etc.  But nobody is evacuating or anything like that.  I think right now we're all waiting to see how the storm's track shifts once it gets past NC.

North Carolina, on the other hand, looks to me like it's in for a serious problem.  To echo Klep, if you're on the barrier islands in NC, the evacuation order is something I think you should take seriously.

[The Atog Lord]

Flying back to Mass -- wouldn't want to miss this.

[Rico Suave]

MIAMI, Sept 2 | Thu Sep 2, 2010 7:58pm EDT

MIAMI, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Hurricane Earl weakened to a Category 2 storm with top winds of 110 miles per hour (165 kph) off the North Carolina coast on Thursday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

Earl was still a broad and dangerous storm but was no longer considered a "major" hurricane as it spun parallel to the U.S. East Coast on a path toward New England and Canada.

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The only way this will be a problem is if it unexpectedly crashes into North Carolina overnight while everyone is asleep and unprepared.  Otherwise, it's going to travel through vast stretches of cold water and won't even be a hurricane by the time it reaches land. 

[Troy_Costisick]

My sister lives in NC.  She's about 80 miles from the coast.  She says everything is okay there right now, just a lot of thunder storms of course.

[Klep]

Yeah, NC really dodged a bullet with this one.  One update Earl was a major, strong Category 4 storm and the next it was barely a 3.  Still, even the Category 2 hurricane it is now as it heads towards the Cape is very dangerous, and Earl has a particularly large wind field.  The shores of New Jersey are expecting a 1-2 foot storm surge, and the Cape can expect more than that. It's not time for those on the Cape to let their guard down quite yet.