Earl weakens; hurricane on way to Northeast

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Hurricane Earl is weakening another notch but remains a Category 1 storm as it heads for New England after brushing North Carolina.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami said Friday that most of Earl's hurricane-force winds are expected to stay offshore of Cape Cod late Friday. But just a slight deviation in Earl's track could bring the area hurricane-force winds that start at 74 mph (119 kph).

As of 2 p.m. EDT, Earl's top sustained winds were down to 80 mph (130 kph) from 85 mph (140 kph) three hours earlier. The storm's center was located about 290 miles (465 kilometers) south-southwest of Nantucket, Mass., and moving north-northeast near 21 mph (33 kph).

That track will take it very near or just east of Cape Code on Friday night and to the coast of Nova Scotia on Saturday.