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Hurricane Arthur skirts North Carolina Hurricane Arthur loses strength
(about 14 hours later)
Hurricane Arthur, packing winds of 100mph, has made landfall in the US state of North Carolina, as thousands abandon their 4 July holiday plans. Hurricane Arthur has weakened in strength after hitting North Carolina's barrier islands overnight, causing thousands of homes to lose power.
The first hurricane of the season, now a Category 2 storm, reached land between Cape Lookout and Beaufort at 23:15 local time (03:15 Friday GMT), the US National Hurricane Center said. The US National Hurricane Center said the maximum sustained winds dropped to 90mph (145km/h) as it pulled away from North Carolina and moved offshore.
Thousands left the area, made up of barrier islands known as Outer Banks. It was downgraded to a Category One storm on Friday morning.
Ferries and highways were packed as people left. Thousands of people were forced to abandon their 4 July plans and there are now flooding fears.
Towns all along the state's coast have rescheduled Independence Day events and fireworks. Towns all along the state's coast have rescheduled Independence Day events and fireworks, and some cities further north up the East Coast held their festivities a day early.
A mandatory evacuation of Hatteras Island, the easternmost strip of land in the Outer Banks, began early on Thursday, when Tropical Storm Arthur was upgraded to hurricane status. The storm is expected to arrive in Nova Scotia, Canada, on Saturday after first passing east of New England.
It was made a Category 2 hurricane late the same day, which means winds reached 96mph. At its peak, winds of 100 mph caused power cuts in 20,000 homes as Arthur came ashore at 23:15 local time (03:15 Friday GMT) over the southern end of the Outer Banks, which are a 200-mile string of narrow barrier islands.
After passing North Carolina, Arthur was expected to weaken as it travels north along the East Coast. At the time, Robin Nelson, who lives with her husband and two sons in Newport, was speaking on the phone to CNN and she described how her house - in the path of the eye of the storm - clattered in the winds.
North Carolina's governor has warned holidaymakers not to take risks along the coast on Friday. "It's howling pretty good here," she said. "You can hear it coming across the sound."
With a hurricane warning in place, Governor Pat McCrory said, "Don't put your stupid hat on." Most of the power cuts were in Carteret County, but power was restored to 4,000 households by daybreak. There were fierce winds and horizontal rain.
A voluntary evacuation has been announced for Ocracoke Island, which is accessible only by ferry. The National Hurricane Center said the first hurricane of the Atlantic season had caused powerful tidal surges and dumped 15cm (6ins) of rain.
"Although the current forecast doesn't indicate this will be a major impact, we are taking it very seriously,'' Mr McCrory said. "I don't want you to put at risk not only yourself but also people who may try to help you." There have been no reports of major structural damage so far.
National Hurricane Center forecaster Stacy Stewart said those who remained behind in the Outer Banks should prepare for the possibility of being stuck for several days without food or electricity. The islands are susceptible to high winds, rough seas and road-clogging sands, prompting an exodus that began on Wednesday night.
"We want the public to take this system very seriously, go ahead and start their preparations because time is beginning to run out," he said. Thousands left the area, and ferries and highways were packed.
Forecasters said the storm would move offshore toward the north-east on Friday but would weaken and pose no serious risk to the northern part of the US east coast.