‘Powerful’ Hurricane Earl Heads for North Carolina
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Earl, one of the strongest hurricanes of the Atlantic season, headed toward the U.S. East Coast after passing north of Puerto Rico with sustained winds of 135 miles (215 kilometers) per hour.
The “powerful” Category 4 hurricane, the second-highest on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale, was 200 miles north-northwest of Puerto Rico and moving west-northwest at 13 mph, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said on its website at 9 a.m. Miami time. The center said storm models are mixed on whether Earl will continue to strengthen.