Tropical Storm Watch Issued for Connecticut Coast

The National Weather Service has issued a tropical storm watch for the Connecticut shoreline and much of the New England coast as Hurricane Earl continues to clamber up the Eastern Seaboard.

As of 5 p.m., the National Hurricane Center reported that Earl had picked up some strength lost earlier in the day to regain its category 4 designation, with a maximum sustained wind speed of 135 mph.

The NHC predicts that the center of the storm will pass to the east of Long Island sometime Friday night, avoiding a direct hit to the Tri-State Region but still holding the potential to wreak havoc with wind, heavy rain, large waves, and storm surges.

The alert means that tropical storm conditions are possible in the area, generally within 48 hours.

As of 5 p.m., the storm was several hundred miles east of the Bahamas moving northwest at 17 mph. Hurricane force winds extended up to 90 miles from the center, while tropical storm winds reached up to 200 miles away.

The latest projections give lower Fairfield Country a 30 percent to 40 percent chance of experiencing tropical storm force winds—defined by a sustained speed of over 39 mph—and a 5 percent to 10 percent chance of experiencing winds in excess of 58 mph.

A tropical storm watch is in effect all the way from Sandy Hook, N.J. to Woods Hole, Mass. and in northern Massachusetts.

Meanwhile, a hurricane watch is in effect further up the coast from Woods Hole to Sagamore Beach, Mass. and coastal areas from southern Virginia to Sandy Hook are under a tropical storm warning.

By late Thursday, the center of Earl is expected to approach the North Carolina shore, which is now under a hurricane warning.