Hurricane Earl whips US northeast

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Hurricane Earl's powerful gusts and driving rains are churning over the Outer Banks of North Carolina and starting to be felt in southeastern Virginia.

US National Weather Service meterologist Jeremy Schulz said rain bands stretched about 140 miles inland in North Carolina and up to the southern tip of the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia.

Sustained winds of about 30 mph were whipping the North Carolina coast. The US Coast Guard station at Hatteras reported a gust of 67 mph just before midnight.

One portion of N.C. Highway 12 in Rodanthe was closed because of ocean overwash. Local officials hoped to have it clear by daybreak.

Earl had weakened Thursday but even its edges were packing powerful winds as it heads up the Eastern Seaboard Friday.

- AP