page_title: Hurricane Earl (2010)
section_title: Meteorological history
hierarchical_section_title: Hurricane Earl (2010) / Meteorological history
caption_attribution_description: English: A train of tropical cyclones are forming in the Atlantic Ocean as the season starts to ramp up.
context_page_description: Hurricane Earl was the first major hurricane to threaten New England since Hurricane Bob in 1991. The fifth named storm of the season, Earl originated from a tropical wave to west of the Cape Verde Islands on August 25, 2010. Tracking nearly due west, the system attained tropical storm intensity within hours of genesis. After maintaining winds of 50 mph for nearly two days, Earl began to strengthen as it neared the Lesser Antilles. The storm intensified into a hurricane on August 29 and later a major hurricane on August 30 as it brushed the Leeward Islands. A temporary weakening trend took place as Earl moved northwestward, contributed to moderate southwesterly wind shear, but intensification later resumed by September 1. Once reorganized, Earl reached its peak winds of 145 mph. Executing a gradual curve to the northeast, the hurricane slowly weakened over decreasing sea surface temperatures; the storm's center passed roughly 85 mi east of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina on September 3. Accelerating northeastward, the system briefly weakened to a tropical storm before reattaining hurricane strength as it made landfall near Western Head, Nova Scotia.
context_section_description: Earl formed in a well-organized area of low pressure and moved into the Atlantic Ocean as a vigorous tropical wave on early August 22. After moving off the west coast of Africa, a surface low started to develop near the area of thunderstorms. The surface low was able to organize the area of thunderstorms, allowing deep convection to occur near it. Because of the area's increasing thunderstorm organization, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) indicated on August 24 that the system had a 90% chance of becoming a tropical depression within the next 48 hours. 18 hours later, the NHC classified the system as Tropical Depression Seven at around 1500 UTC on August 25, while it was located about 430 mi (690 km) west of the southernmost Cape Verde Islands. Six hours later, at about 2100 UTC, the system's maximum sustained winds were estimated to be 40 mph (65 km/h). Accordingly, the depression was declared to have become the fifth tropical storm of the season, and received the name Earl.
  Earl was forecast to head westward while gradually strengthening under the influence of low wind shear and warm ocean temperatures. However, dry air caught in Earl's circulation precluded additional intensification, causing the storm to maintain 45 mph (75 km/h) maximum sustained winds for 36 hours. On August 29, the storm resumed gradual intensification, even though wind shear increased due to the outflow from nearby Hurricane Danielle. The wind shear caused Earl's low level center of circulation to become exposed, limiting Earl's intensification to 60 mph (95 km/h) maximum sustained winds during the following 12 hours. As the storm neared the Leeward Islands, convection increased around Earl and defined banding features formed. Around 1230 UTC, Earl strengthened into a hurricane roughly 365 mi (585 km) east of the northern Leeward Islands. Rapid intensification ensued throughout the day as a 35 mi (55 km) wide eye became apparent in radar imagery from Guadeloupe.
  Hurricane Earl's outflow steadily improved through August 30 and sustained winds rose above 100 mph (155 km/h), making Earl a Category 2 storm. Around 1200 UTC, the center of Earl passed roughly 25 mi (35 km) east-northeast of St. Martin with sustained winds of 110 mph (175 km/h). Several hours later, the storm further intensified into a major hurricane. That afternoon, Earl became a Category 4 hurricane, attaining winds of 135 mph (215 km/h) before leveling out in intensity. A northwestward track began to become apparent by this time as the system neared the southwestern periphery of a subtropical ridge over the Atlantic Ocean. Early on August 31, an eyewall replacement cycle, a process in which a storm's eye dissipates and is replaced by a larger one, began to take place. Despite increasing wind shear, the system maintained its intensity through September 1, when it briefly weakened to a Category 3 system. Gradual strengthening took place throughout the day as the eye became better defined and convection deepened around the center. Additionally, the storm began to turn northward in response to the ridge over the Atlantic and a strong trough over the Great Lakes. Hurricane Earl later attained its peak intensity during the morning of September 2 with winds of 145 mph (230 km/h) and a barometric pressure of 928 mbar (hPa; 27.40 inHg).
  During the afternoon of September 2, Earl finally succumbed to the effects of increased shear and cooler water temperatures. Embedded within the mid-latitude westerlies, a gradual northeasterly turn was expected over the following day, preventing Earl from making landfall along the East Coast of the United States. Around 0600 UTC the next morning, the storm made its closest approach to the United States, passing roughly 85 mi (140 km) east of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina with winds of 105 mph (165 km/h). Further weakening took place throughout the day as convection weakened and the eye dissipated. Earl was downgraded to a tropical storm that evening; however, the central pressure remained at an unusually low 958 mbar (hPa; 28.29 inHg). At the same time, t
caption: Satellite image of the North Atlantic Ocean on August 29 depicting hurricanes Danielle (top) and Earl (middle) as well as two tropical waves that would eventually develop into tropical storms Fiona and Gaston (right)
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