(AP) -- BUXTON, N.C. (AP) - Hurricane Earl is weakening slightly as it heads toward North Carolina's Outer Banks, but forecasters say it's still a dangerous hurricane with winds of 115 mph.
The National Hurricane Center says bands of rain and gusty winds are already approaching the Outer Banks. Earl's eye is expected to pass near there on Thursday night and New England Friday night.
Hurricane and tropical storm watches and warnings are in effect along the Eastern Seaboard from North Carolina all the way to Canada.
Earl is about 185 miles south of Cape Hatteras, N.C., and 670 miles south-southwest of Nantucket, Mass.
(Copyright ©2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
