Outer Bands Of Hurricane Arthur Start Reaching Parts Of North Carolina

Arthur has strengthened to a hurricane in the Atlantic, where it threatens to deliver the Carolinas a glancing blow on Independence Day.

The hurricane's maximum sustained winds are now at 80 miles an hour. The storm's outer bands have started to reach southern parts of North Carolina.

Hurricane warnings on the state's coast stretch from Surf City to the Virginia border.

Arthur is centered about 300 miles southwest of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and is moving north near 9 miles an hour.

The first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season has prompted a mandatory evacuation for residents and visitors on the Outer Banks' Hatteras Island. A voluntary evacuation is underway on Ocracoke Island.

Up the East Coast, worries of weather from Arthur have prompted some cities to delay fireworks and other July Fourth festivities. Forecasters warn of rain, wind and potentially life-threatening rip tides.