Hurricane Arthur forms in Atlantic off US East Coast

This Wednesday, July 2, 2014, satellite image taken at 3:35 p.m. EDT and released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), shows Tropical Storm Arthur moving north off the east coast of Florida. The first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season has strengthened to a hurricane early Thursday, July 3, 2014, and threatened to give North Carolina a glancing blow on Independence Day, prompting the governor to warn vacationers along the coast not to risk their safety by trying to salvage their picnics and barbecues. AP

• Will deal a glancing blow at North Carolina where 29,314 Filipinos live

RODANTHE, North Carolina — A hurricane off the U.S. East Coast threatened to upend Americans’ plans for Friday’s Independence Day holiday.

The southern state of North Carolina braced itself for a glancing blow from Hurricane Arthur ahead of the Fourth of July holiday, prompting the governor to warn vacationers along the coast to not to put holiday celebrations ahead of their safety.

The National Hurricane Center predicted Arthur would swipe the coast early Friday with winds of up to 85 mph (136 kph). The storm would be off the coast of New England later Friday and eventually make landfall in Canada’s maritime provinces as a tropical storm, the Hurricane Center predicted.

Up north in Boston, one of America’s signature Fourth of July events, the annual Boston Pops outdoor concert and fireworks show, was moved up a day because of potential heavy rain ahead of the hurricane.

The performance takes place along the Charles River Esplanade, with fireworks set off from barges on the river. Hundreds of thousands of people usually attend. Organizers and public safety officials said the celebration was rescheduled for Thursday, which appeared to be the best of two potential bad weather days.

Arthur, the first named storm of the Atlantic season, prompted a hurricane warning for much of the North Carolina coast. Tropical storm warnings were in effect for coastal areas in South Carolina and Virginia.

Forecasters expect Arthur speed up to a Category 2 storm and pass over or near the North Carolina’s Banks — a 200-mile (320-kilometer) string of narrow barrier islands with about 57,000 permanent residents — early Friday, bringing rain, heavy winds, storm surge and dangerous rip tides.

Gov. Pat McCrory warned vacationers along the coast not to risk their safety by trying to salvage their picnics, barbecues and pre-paid beach cottage vacations.

“Don’t put your stupid hat on,” McCrory said.

On the Outer Banks’ Ocracoke Island, accessible only by ferry, a voluntary evacuation was underway. A mandatory evacuation for nearby Hatteras Island visitors began at 5 a.m.

Outer Banks residents and out-of-town visitors who fail to evacuate ahead of the hurricane’s expected arrival should prepare for possibly getting stuck for several days without food, water or power, National Hurricane Center forecaster Stacy Stewart said Thursday.

Before sunset Wednesday on Route 12, which links North Carolina’s coast and some of the Outer Banks islands, a long line of vehicles formed a steady stream of traffic. The road has been sliced apart twice in recent years as storms cut temporary channels from the ocean to the sound. The road is easily blocked by sand and water.

Other areas of the Outer Banks were taking a cautious yet optimistic approach: No evacuations had been ordered for areas north of Hatteras, including the popular town of Kill Devil Hills, which was the site of the Wright brothers’ first controlled, powered airplane flights in 1903.

The holiday weekend was not expected to be a complete loss for the estimated quarter-million visitors vacationing on the Outer Banks. Forecasters said the storm would move through quickly with the worst of the weather near Cape Hatteras about dawn Friday. Then it was expected to clear.

On Thursday afternoon, Arthur was about 225 miles (365 kilometers) southwest of Cape Hatteras and moving north around 13 mph (20 kph) with maximum sustained winds of 90 mph (150 kph).

If Arthur makes landfall in the U.S. on Friday, it would be the first hurricane to do so on July Fourth, according to National Hurricane Center research that goes back to the 1850s.