(Aug. 29) — Strengthening Hurricane Earl will slam the northeastern Caribbean from tonight through the early part of the week before passing dangerously close to the East Coast of the United States later in the week.
Hurricane warnings are in effect for the northern Leeward Islands. Earl will move through that area tonight into Monday with strong winds and heavy rain. Tropical storm warnings and hurricane watches are in effect for the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. The center of the hurricane will pass to the northeast of these areas, but the southern part of the storm will result in at least tropical-storm conditions.
As of early this afternoon, Earl had sustained winds of 75 mph, but National Hurricane Center forecasters are expecting that Earl will grow stronger as it tracks northwestward during the next couple of days. Earl will likely be the second major hurricane of the season by midday on Monday, following quickly on the heels of Hurricane Danielle.
Current forecasts predict that the storm will peak at sustained winds of approximately 125 mph on Thursday.
