Hurricane Earl lost some momentum as it barreled toward the East Coast on Thursday, offering Atlantic homeowners and beach-goers a sigh of relief — though evacuations have continued in many beach towns.
The National Weather Service downgraded Earl to a Category 3 Thursday afternoon, as its winds decreased from 140 miles per hour in the early morning to 115 miles per hour by 5 p.m., as they began to reach the Outer Banks.
A Category 5 storm — the strongest type of hurricane — carries winds of more than 155 miles per hour.
Virginia Beach and Ocean City — two popular Labor Day destinations for area residents — will experience strong winds between 30 and 40 miles per hour and rough surf until 3 p.m. Friday, according to emergency management officials. The beach towns will largely be spared, however — with the storm expected to stay roughly 200 miles off the coast, said Richard Muth, director of Maryland’s emergency management agency.
Earl is expected to hit the Outer Banks, a barrier island off North Carolina’s coast, late Thursday and charge up the coast toward Maine. Earl will scrape Cape Hatteras — the southernmost tip of the island — just 50 miles off the coast, but the hurricane isn’t expected to edge that close to land again until it hits Nantucket Island in Massachusetts.
Federal officials are warning of coastal flooding, beach erosion and power outages to the Delmarva Peninsula, according to the National Hurricane Center.
The governors of Virginia, North Carolina and Maryland declared states of emergency on Wednesday, when the storm was stronger and its path was less predictable.
Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley has since toned down his warnings, after a meeting with the state’s emergency management agency on Thursday.
Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell said Virginia Beach vacationers should “absolutely” plan on following through with travel plans.
Muth said Ocean City vacationers should postpone travel plans until 3 p.m. Friday, when the brunt of the storm’s impact on Maryland’s beach town will pass. Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan pre-emptively closed all beaches to swimmers early Thursday afternoon and said the restrictions likely will last through Saturday.
Last weekend, dozens of swimmers were pulled from the strong rip currents during the much weaker Hurricane Danielle. One Ocean City swimmer, 23-year-old D.C. resident Melkis DelGado went missing.
