Hurricane Maria’s top sustained winds dropped Tuesday to near 120 kph, and the National Hurricane Center expected it to weaken into a tropical storm by Tuesday night or Wednesday. Photo: AFPWaves, North Carolina: Thousands of visitors abandoned their beach vacations and evacuated North Carolina’s Outer Banks on Tuesday as a weakening Hurricane Maria churned up high surf that pushed through dunes and under homes. Maria’s top sustained winds dropped Tuesday to near 120 kph, and the National Hurricane Center expected it to weaken into a tropical storm by Tuesday night or Wednesday. The centre remained far offshore, centered about 285 kilometers south-east of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and moving north at 11 kph. On Hatteras, Jay Wrenn and his wife packed up for a five-hour drive back home to Burlington, North Carolina.

Source: Mint September 26, 2017 20:26 UTC