Hurricane Warning Issued for NC

A hurricane warning has been issued for the North Carolina coast as powerful Hurricane Earl bears down on the East Coast, while a hurricane watch now extends into Delaware. Visitors have been evacuating Ocracoke Island in ferries and told to leave neighboring Cape Hatteras in North Carolina's Outer Banks, and federal authorities are warning people all along the Eastern seaboard to be prepared to evacuate.

Emergency officials as far north as Maine are checking their equipment and urging people to have disaster plans and supplies ready. Meanwhile, a new tropical depression has formed far out in the Atlantic. The depression has maximum sustained winds near 35mph, but is likely to strengthen into a tropical storm in the next 48 hours. (More Ocracoke stories.)