Hurricane warning issued for Mass. as East Coast braces for weekend pounding by Earl

BUXTON, N.C. - Hurricane Earl packed winds near 140 mph (225 kph) as it blew toward North Carolina on Thursday, putting the Eastern Seaboard up to Maine on alert for a Labor Day weekend pounding by waves, gales and rain.

With Earl closing in on the U.S. coast, Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Craig Fugate said there was no longer time to wait on the next forecast to see how close the eye of the storm might get to shore.

A hurricane warning for the tip of Massachusetts, including Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, joined earlier warnings and watches for hurricanes or tropical storms that stretch from North Carolina up to near the Canadian border.

"They really need to focus today on what they're going to do before the storm gets there," Fugate said. "Implement your plans and be ready to heed evacuation orders."

Earl was a dangerous Category 4 storm and the hurricane force winds were beginning to spread farther from the eye as the centre of the storm underwent a change, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.

The centre's director, Bill Read, said hurricane winds were spread 90 miles (145 kilometres) from the eye and widening. The eye of the storm will likely remain about 30 to 75 miles (50 to 120 kilometres) east of the Outer Banks, meaning at the closest point of approach, the western edge of the eyewall could impact Cape Hatteras, with huge waves, beach erosion and maybe some property damage from the waves.

"They're going to have a full impact of a major hurricane," Read said.

There will be a similar close approach for the eastern tip of Long Island, Rhode Island, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket.

"They'll be facing a similar scenario that North Carolina is facing today," Read said. "And it will be bigger. The storm won't be as strong but they spread out as they go north and the rain will be spreading from New England."

That will mean strong, gusty winds much like a nor'easter, and because leaves are still on the trees, there could be fallen trees or limbs and downed power lines.

"This is the strongest hurricane to threaten the northeast and New England since Hurricane Bob in 1991," said Dennis Feltgen, a meteorologist and spokesman for the National Hurricane Center. "They don't get storms this powerful very often."

The North Carolina National Guard is deploying 80 troops to help and President Barack Obama declared an emergency in the state. The declaration authorizes the Department of Homeland Security and Federal Emergency Management Agency to co-ordinate all disaster relief efforts.

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Associated Press Writers Christine Armario in Miami; Martha Waggoner, Emery Dalesio and Gary Robertson in Raleigh, North Carolina; Tom Breen in Morehead City, North Carolina; Bruce Smith in Kure Beach, North Carolina; Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina; Dena Potter in Norfolk, Virginia; David Sharp from Portland, Maine; Mark Pratt in Boston; Frank Eltman in Southampton, New York; and Bruce Shipkowski in Trenton, New Jersey, contributed to this report.