Weather: My Name is Earl

September 1, 2010 | Story by: Leslie Huffman | Categories: Featured, News

The busiest time of hurricane season is here. Hurricane Earl’s slash up the East Coast starting at Ocracoke is a reminder that Cary is not too far from the action.

Evacuations at the Beach

At 5 a.m. this Wednesday morning, Ocracoke and Hatteras Island announced evacuation orders for all visitors and residents in preparation for hurricane Earl.  Dare County officials said they expect Earl to create high waves that will flood parts of N.C. Highway 12, making travel unsafe.

At 8 a.m. the National Hurricane Center showed hurricane Earl passing east of the Bahamas today and tonight and could approach the North Carolina coast by early Friday morning.  Earl is on a forecast track to take a gradual turn to the north-northwest but is not likely to make landfall on our coast but will cause dangerous conditions.

A strong category 3 storm, Earl is packing winds reaching 125 mph and is approximately 180 miles wide. Large swells should effect the North Carolina coast beginning Thursday and into Friday.  These swells will cause extremely dangerous surf conditions and rip currents.  A storm surges of 3 to 4 feet are possible.

More Storms Brewing

Tropical Storm Fiona is following close behind Earl and will either be absorbed by Earl or head east out to sea, thereby not becoming a threat to land.

Following a similar path to Earl and Fiona and right behind them is Tropical Depression 9, which formed this morning. TS 9 is very close to becoming a named storm - Tropical Storm Gaston.

Weather for Cary

Earl is predicted to slide up the coast and not affect Cary. Of course, it’s a hurricane, and if it changes course, we’ll let you know.

Right now, the forecast is for 10 days of unabated sunshine over the Triangle. Don’t reseed your lawn quite yet unless you’re prepared to water a lot.

Information provided by the National Hurricane Center, the National Weather Service and The Weather Channel