MSNBC: "Not since Hurricane Bob in 1991 has a storm threatened so much of the East Coast"

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Massachusetts gets hurricane warning ahead of Earl
Not since Hurricane Bob in 1991 has a storm threatened so much of the East Coast

updated 47 minutes ago

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38877306/ns/weather/



HATTERAS ISLAND, N.C. — As Hurricane Earl churned toward the Outer Banks of North Carolina with top sustained winds near 140 mph, forecasters issued a hurricane warning much further up the coast Thursday for parts of Massachusetts, including Nantucket.

The center of Earl was about 300 miles south of Cape Hatteras, N.C., around midday Thursday.

With the storm expected to start hitting North Carolina later in the day, officials expanded mandatory evacuation orders across new areas of the state's low-lying barrier islands.

The orders affect all visitors throughout Dare County as well as residents and visitors to the popular town of Nags Head, county emergency relief officials said.

Mandatory evacuations, similar to those already in effect for Hatteras Island and Ocracoke Island, were also ordered for the beach communities at Morehead City, authorities said.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami issued a tropical storm warning early Thursday for the coast of Long Island and a hurricane watch was issued for areas of Massachusetts. A hurricane warning was already in effect for the North Carolina coast.

Canadian officials also put parts of the Nova Scotia coast under a tropical storm watch.

Category 4 storm Earl, which has maximum sustained winds near 145 mph, was located about 410 miles south of Cape Hatteras, N.C., and was moving north-northwest near 18 mph.

Forecasters said the storm had strengthened slightly, but expected gradual weakening to start later Thursday. Hurricane-force winds extend outward 90 miles from its center.

[Political Tiger]

1. I wonder how long it will be before the savage Reich says it's "God's punishment"

for (fill in the blank).

[madrchsod]

2. there`s 40 mph winds forecast tomorrow through the midwest

this front may arrive in time to push earl away from the upper coast line of the usa and canada.

as they say timing is everything...

[murielm99]

3. This is off topic, but

your mayor had a nice guest article in the Rockford Register Star, Insight section, on Aug. 30. It was about Muslims and the mosque.

Back on topic: I hope our strong winds to help push Earl out to sea. Even with that, there are several hurricanes left to come this season.