Hurricane Earl (2010)
Hurricane Earl was a long-lived and powerful Cape Verde hurricane that impacted the Leeward Islands, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, the East Coast of the United States, and Eastern Canada. The fifth named storm of the season, Earl originated from a tropical wave to west of the Cape Verde Islands on August 25, 2010. Tracking nearly due west, the system attained tropical storm intensity within hours of genesis. After maintaining winds of 50 mph (80 km/h) for nearly two days, Earl began to strengthen as it neared the Lesser Antilles. The storm intensified into a hurricane on August 29 and later a major hurricane on August 30 as it brushed the Leeward Islands. A temporary weakening trend took place as Earl moved northwestward, contributed to moderate southwesterly wind shear, but intensification later resumed by September 1. Once reorganized, Earl reached its peak winds of 145 mph (233 km/h). Executing a gradual curve to the northeast, the hurricane slowly weakened over decreasing sea surface temperatures; the storm's center passed roughly 85 mi (137 km) east of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina on September 3. Accelerating northeastward, the system briefly weakened to a tropical storm before reattaining hurricane strength as it made landfall near Western Head, Nova Scotia. After traversing the peninsula, the hurricane became extratropical and was later absorbed by a larger low pressure area on September 6, while located north of Newfoundland.
For other storms of the same name, see List of storms named Earl.Meteorological history
In the Lesser Antilles, the storm brought strong winds, damaging houses and toppling trees, signs, and power lines, resulting in hundreds of thousands of electrical outages. Heavy rainfall led to flooding, inundating streets and leaving waist-deep water on some islands. One death occurred in Antigua and Barbuda when a person was electrocuted while attempting to restore power. The region was inflicted with at least $40.8 million (2010 USD) in damage. Along the coast of the Eastern United States, tropical storm-force winds affected portions of North Carolina and Massachusetts; however, little damage resulted, totaling about $3.8 million in the Outer Banks. Six fatalities were confirmed in the United States as a result of rip currents and rough seas; three in Florida, two in New Jersey and one in Massachusetts. In Nova Scotia, Canada, where Earl made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane, one person drowned and hundreds of thousands of people lost power for days.
Preparations[edit]
Caribbean[edit]
On August 27, France issued a tropical storm watch for the French side of Saint Martin and Saint Barthélemy.[36] The next day, Antigua and Barbuda and the Netherlands Antilles issued tropical storm watches for Antigua, Barbuda, Montserrat, St Kitts and Nevis and Anguilla and for Sint Maarten, Saba and Sint Eustatius.[37] Hours later, most of the watches were upgraded to tropical storm warnings; a tropical storm watch was also issued for the United States Virgin Islands.[38] By August 28, hurricane warnings were in place for the areas between Anguilla and Montserrat; hurricane watches were declared for the U.S. and British Virgin Islands as well as Puerto Rico.[39] As Earl moved closer to the northeastern Caribbean, warnings were extended westward through the Virgin Islands.[40]