Hurricane Earl May Dampen Labor Day Plans

As Hurricane Earl grows in strength, federal organizations are urging residents to be prepared for the possibility of heavy wind and rain this weekend.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has sent out several alert messages in the past few days warning East Coast residents to visit Ready.gov for storm preparations.

Currently a hurricane watch is in effect for the North Carolina and Virginia border, but the National Hurricane Center stated, "Interests from the Carolinas northward to New England should monitor the progress of Earl. A hurricane watch could be required for portions of the Mid-Atlantic coast later today."

As of 5 a.m. this morning, the National Hurricane Center deemed Earl a Category 3 storm.

It is still uncertain how close the hurricane may come to the East Coast although heavy rain is to be expected because of the storm.

The Southeast River Forecast Center predicts potential coastal flooding and a rise in volume of other river basins.

Early predictions also suggest that a rainfall of three to five inches would swell the rivers to "flood stage."

A representative from Lowe's hardware store said that they were unaware of a hurricane threat and that their store had not seen a spike in hurricane preparation necessities.

Prince William County has yet to make an official statement on the potential threat of the hurricane.

Seemingly just in time, FEMA, Citizen Corps, and the Ad Council have declared Septermber as "National Preparedness Month."

Another tropic storm, Fiona, remains a minimal threat.

Stay with Woodbridge Patch this week for news, weather and emergency statements regarding hurricane Earl.