Hurricane Earl Weakens But Still Has Big Punch
Hurricane Earl was downgraded to a Category 3 storm on Thursday but people along the East Coast were still bracing for a powerful punch.
The storm was expected to pass near North Carolina's Outer Banks overnight, the National Hurricane Center said. The eye of the storm likely would not make landfall but forecasters expect intense winds to lash the coast.
States of emergency was declared as far north as Massachusetts, where the storm was expected to pass by this weekend.
The storm was nearly 500 miles wide with maximum sustained winds up to 125 mph late Thursday afternoon. Earl was not as strong as it was Thursday morning, when 145 mph winds made it a Category 4 storm.
Forecasters expect the hurricane to fluctuate as it draws nearer to the Eastern Seaboard.
With Earl approaching so close to the coastline, nearly the entire East Coast is threatened.
Federal authorities were sending supplies in case of an emergency. FEMA said 300,000 ready-to-eat meals as well as bottled water and generators are being sent to North Carolina in anticipation of an emergency response.
(ABC News Contributed To This Report)
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