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Weather Underground Forecast for Thursday, September 02, 2010.

Hurricane Earl will rapidly approach the East Coast on Thursday, bringing unsettled weather to the North Carolina coast. While Earl is not expected to make a direct landfall with the region, tropical storm force winds are expected to reach the North Carolina coast within the warning area by Thursday afternoon with hurricane force winds occurring by late Thursday. In addition to dangerous winds, heavy rainfall and thunderstorms will pound eastern North Carolina, including the Outer Banks, providing accumulations of 2 to 4 inches with isolated maximum amounts of 6 inches. Large swells from Earl will continue to affect the East Coast with dangerous rip currents and surf conditions through Friday. Residents of the North Carolina coast and especially the Outer Banks are urged to monitor the approaching storm. For more information on Hurricane Earl, please visit http://www.wunderground.com/tropical/.

Elsewhere, a low pressure trough will continue pushing eastward through the Midwest. The system will support scattered rain showers and thunderstorms from the Great Lakes through the Southern Plains, as well as chances of severe weather activity from the Mid-Mississippi Valley through the Southern Plains. In the West, high pressure will remain the dominant weather feature of the region and will produce another day of dry conditions with warm temperatures and plenty of sunshine by the afternoon.

Temperatures in the Lower 48 states Wednesday ranged from a low of 28 degrees at Reese River, Nev. to a high of 110 degrees at Death Valley, Calif.