Hurricane Earl: Better to be in Charleston than the Outer Banks (updated)

Earl's cone of uncertainty as of 7 a.m. on August 31.

Update August 31, early a.m.: Earl has strengthened to a 135 MPH storm and its cone has drifted slightly more westward over the last 24 hours making things no better for the Outer Banks and increasing the likelihood of Charleston getting some winds and rain, and big waves.

So be sure to watch for strong rip currents if you're swimming from now over the next week at least -- and don't forget that Fiona is just starting to brew, even though she looks to be no Earl in strength at this point.

Stay tuned to this one, as we likely won't know if we're out of Earl's scope until Friday. 

FIrst reporting August 30: The National Weather Service has just updated their forecast cone (at 11 a.m.) for Hurricane Earl.

First the bad news: The hurricane is still expected to become a major hurricane within the next 12 hours. Now the other bad news: It's looking more likely that the storm will at least brush past the East Coast giving us some good waves, however should air pressures delay the storm from turning more northernly it will increase its likelihood of landing in North Carolina, though a Charleston impact seems unlikely at this point

Here's a map that will give you an idea at just how many possible paths are on the table at this point.

However the National Weather Service is quick to remind that the cone of uncertainty could be off by as much as 200 or 300 miles in the coming days as all the dice play out, so keep tuned to our hurricane topic page.

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