Fear 110mph Hurricane Earl could sideswipe New York, Boston and Cape Cod

New York is last night bracing itself for the worst storm in 19 years.

Winds gusting up to 110mph were expected to lash the north-east of the U.S. as Hurricane Earl grew larger than California and was due to hit the mainland.

In anticipation of the high winds and 30ft waves that will flood homes, cause power cuts and delay flights, the state issued a storm warning.

Putting on a brave face: The Wood and Rollins families say they will ride out the storm in this rented beach house in Avon, North Carolina

Earl was expected to hit North Carolina first, where Barack Obama has declared a state of emergency.

But homeowners all the way up to New Jersey and New York were boarding up their windows and preparing for evacuation.

In the coming days Boston will take a near direct hit before it continues through Maine to Canada.

The governors of Virginia and Maryland have also declared a state of emergency, handing control of planning and response to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Earl's first encounter with the U.S. mainland was due at midnight in the U.S. last night as it passes just off Cape Hatteras in North Carolina where 100,000 residents have been ordered to evacuate.

By mid-afternoon, it will have reached New Jersey and New York before heading to Boston tonight.

North Carolina governor Beverly Perdue said: 'We're ready. As ready as anybody can be.'

The timing coincides with Labour Day in the U.S. when millions were planning to travel to the coast for a day break.

Earl's predicted path means the eye of the storm will be over the Atlantic, just 30 miles off the coast.

But the National Hurricane Centre has only been able to plot is path with what it calls a 'cone of uncertainty', meaning it could swing inland at any moment.

The storm does not even have to hit land to cause serious problems as it can cause hurricane force winds 90 miles from its eye and tropical force 240 miles away, putting cities such as New York in
its sights.

Earl was today downgraded to a category three storm, two less than the most serious, such as the deadly level five Katrina in 2005.

The last notable hurricane to hit the north-east coast was hurricane Bob in 1991 which left 18 dead and £1.8billion of damage.

FEMA advised residents to have a disaster plan in place and heed evacuation orders. 'You need to make sure you know where to go when you need to go.'

In New York, the Red Cross is ready to open up shelters housing up to 60,000.

Sign of the times: As motorists evacuate Hatteras Island in North Carolina, one person had time to leave Hurricane Earl a not-so-welcome message

Preparation: The path the hurricane is expected to take and (inset) workers prepare a house for a battering

Hurricane chaser: Carolyn Butler, a computer scientist, studies information about Hurricane Earl on board the NASA aircraft that is following the storm

Leaving nothing behind: Mobile homes in Westport, Massachusetts are driven to safety

Time to go: Motorists are backed up along Route 12 as they leave the North Carolina coastline

Watching and waiting: Eight-year-olds Morgan Langley (right) and Stephen Lee watch the high surf caused approaching hurricane Earl

Make way for Earl: Lifeguards at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina clear the beach in preparation for the storm

Flying into the eye of the storm: A NASA aircraft with a sensor used to measure data flies into Hurricane Earl to learn more about the storm

Batten down the hatches: A carpenter installs wooden boards over windows and doors on Hatteras Island

Calm: An image from the NASA 'hurricane chaser' shows the eye of Hurricane Earl over the Atlantic

Centre of the storm: This satellite image from the International Space Station shows the swirls of heavy rain and high winds

Powerful: The category four hurricane was predicted to touch the North Carolina coast before moving out to sea, but forecasters say it could now hit the state, Long Island and even Boston

Fears: The hurricane has winds of up to 140mph and could cause widespread damage if it does hit land

Calm before the storm: Glorious weather in Hatteras Village the evening before Hurricane Earl was expected to hit and, right, one resident takes a light-hearted view of the storm