Hurricane Earl has taken aim at North Carolina in the eastern US and is on track to lash it with dangerous winds and pounding surf before cutting a path up the coast to Canada.
The US National Hurricane Centre said the massive Category 3 storm on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of intensity had top sustained winds of 125mph (205kph) after weakening slightly from its expected peak wind-strength.
At least 100,000 people were under evacuation orders from North Carolina's Outer Banks islands as Earl swirled over the Atlantic about 395km south of Cape Hatteras at about 2pm EDT (1800 GMT).
It was due to pass near the Outer Banks tonight, making its closest approach near Cape Hatteras around 2am EDT (0600 GMT) tomorrow, before turning gradually northeast to sweep up the East Coast and into Canada on Saturday.
While a direct US landfall was not forecast, Earl was due to deliver a stinging blow to the North Carolina coast and further northwards before the Labor Day holiday weekend which marks the end of the summer vacation season.
Breaking waves 4.6 metres or higher were expected along North Carolina's Outer Banks, picturesque barrier islands that jut out into the Atlantic and are frequently smacked by hurricanes and storms.
Earl was one of the biggest storms to menace the state since Hurricane Floyd killed more than 50 people in North Carolina in 1999.
Watches and warnings were posted along the Atlantic coast for most of North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, part of Massachusetts, and in Canada for parts of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.
Forecasters said Earl's centre was expected to be very near southeastern New England on Friday night.
Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard and the eastern half of Cape Cod will experience hurricane-force winds.
