SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Hurricane Earl battered tiny islands across the northeastern Caribbean with heavy rain and roof-ripping winds Monday, rapidly intensifying into a major Category 4 storm on a path projected to menace the United States.
Already dangerous with sustained winds of 135 mph, Earl is expected to gain more strength before potentially brushing the U.S. East Coast this week and bringing deadly rip currents.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami warned coastal residents from North Carolina to Maine to watch the storm closely.
“Any small shift in the track could dramatically alter whether it makes landfall or whether it remains over the open ocean,” said Wallace Hogsett, a meteorologist at the center. “I can’t urge (people) enough to just stay tuned.”
In the Caribbean, Earl caused flooding in low-lying areas and damaged homes on islands including Antigua and Barbuda, Anguilla and St. Maarten. Several countries and territories reported power outages. Cruise ships were diverted and flights canceled across the region.
The storm’s center passed just north of the British Virgin Islands on Monday afternoon. By nighttime, the hurricane was pulling away from the Caribbean, but heavy downpours still threatened to cause flash floods and mudslides in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands by drenching already saturated ground.
Earl was forecast to approach the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region about Thursday, before curving back out to sea, potentially swiping New England or far-eastern Canada.
At El Conquistador Resort in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, as the lights flickered, people lined up at the reception desk to check out and head to the airport. There, more delays awaited.
Two Coloradans, John and Linda Helton of Boulder, opted to ride out the storm. The couple, celebrating their 41st wedding anniversary, finished a cruise Sunday and planned to spend three days in Puerto Rico.
“There was a huge line of people checking out as we were coming in, and I thought it was just that summer vacation must be over,” said John Helton, a real estate appraiser. “But we paid for the room, so we might as well stick it out.”
“I don’t think we could get a flight even if we wanted to leave,” Linda Helton added.
