LUMBERTON — Unless there is a last-minute change in its path, Hurricane Earl will be a breeze for Robeson County.

“This is an Outer Banks storm. That’s where all the action is going to be,” said Ron Steve, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Wilmington. “There’s not going to be much happening in Robeson County. That’s the long and short of it.”

Steve said early today that all Robeson County and the surrounding area can expect to experience from Earl is a strong breeze of around 20 mph and some high level clouds. Even rain, he said, will be hard to find.

As Earl became a Category 4 hurricane Gov. Beverly Perdue declared a state of emergency for North Carolina. A Category 5 storm is the strongest, with winds reaching 155 mph and higher.

Early today, Earl continued toward the Eastern Seaboard with winds swirling at around 145 mph. Forecasters were trying to pinpoint exactly how close the strongest winds and heaviest surge would get to North Carolina’s fragile chain of barrier islands. They also were trying to figure out whether the storm would stay off the Northeast coast or bring hurricane-force winds to Long Island, the Boston metropolitan area and Cape Cod.

Earl’s first encounter with the U.S. mainland should come around midnight Thursday, as the storm is forecast to pass just off Cape Hatteras, bringing wind gusts of up to 100 mph and several feet of storm surge both from the Atlantic and the sounds to the west of the islands.

“There is still concern that this track, the core of the storm, could shift a little farther to the west and have a very significant impact on the immediate coastline. Our present track keeps it off shore, but you never know,” National Hurricane Center spokesman Dennis Feltgen said.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami issued a tropical storm warning early today for the coast of Long Island in New York and a hurricane watch was issued for areas of Massachusetts. A hurricane warning was already in effect for the North Carolina coast.

If Earl moves farther east, Friday might just be modestly wet and blustery for millions in the Northeast. If the storm runs along the western edge of the forecast, dangerous storm surge, heavy rain and hurricane-force winds could slam the populous region.

The Outer Banks had only light winds and high clouds early today as the eye of Earl was hundreds of miles south of Cape Hatteras. Those conditions were expected to deteriorate throughout the day, said National Hurricane Center forecaster Todd Kimberline.

Early today, more people were being told to leave the Outer Banks. Dare County officials have issued an order for all visitors to leave. Officials had ordered visitors and residents on Hatteras Island out on Wednesday.

The town of Nags Head has issued a mandatory evacuation order for both residents and visitors in South Nags Head. Hyde County began evacuating people from the Outer Banks islands Wednesday.

Dare County officials warn people living on the beachfront to move because coastal flooding is expected as Earl passes offshore early Friday. Officials say hurricane-force winds are expected.

Tourists were largely gonetoday from the Outer Banks, but those resolute residents who stayed behind said they were prepared to face down the powerful hurricane. On Hatteras Island, locals familiar with hurricanes vowed to ride out Earl, preparing to spend days stranded from the mainland. Dare County officials said the daring should be ready to fend for themselves for up to three days.

Residents like Nancy Scarborough, who manages the Hatteras Cabanas, said Outer Banks residents have a tight-knit community that takes care of its own.

“I worry about not being able to get back here,’” she said. “I’d rather be stuck on this side than that side.”

“Post-Katrina, people are really sensitive to storm preparedness,” said Atlantic Beach Mayor Trace Cooper. “I don’t think we’re going to see too many people sticking around and saying they’re going to have hurricane parties. You see enough pictures of people waiting on their roofs to be rescued and you decide to take precautions.”

The North Carolina National Guard is deploying 80 troops to help and President Barack Obama declared an emergency in the state. The declaration authorizes the Department of Homeland Security and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to coordinate all disaster relief efforts.

As Earl whirled into a powerful Category 4 storm, the governors of North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland declared states of emergency, the USS Cole hustled to return to its port in Virginia and volunteers carried sea turtle nests to safety.

Farther up the East Coast, emergency officials urged people to have disaster plans and supplies ready and weighed whether to order evacuations as they watched the latest maps from the hurricane center — namely, the “cone of uncertainty” showing the broad path the storm could take.

In Massachusetts, some boaters had already pulled their crafts from the water in anticipation of rough seas, said Harwich Assistant Harbor Master Heinz Proft. The Labor Day weekend is about the time of year when people start pulling their boats anyway, so some are just accelerating the process.

“It’s been a small percentage so far, but we are encouraging people to be proactive,” he said.

In Virginia, Gov. Bob McDonnell activated the National Guard and sent 200 troops to the Hampton Roads area on Chesapeake Bay. The area was not expected to get the brunt of Earl, but many remember the surprise fury of Isabel, which killed 33 people and caused $1.6 billion in damage in September 2003.

Tugboat captain Randy Francis planned to ride out the storm on his 40-foot trawler named “Invictus” at a marina in Norfolk, Va. He said most people didn’t appear to be taking the hurricane seriously.

“I was somewhat frustrated that they were somewhat nonchalant about it here,” Francis said. “I’d just rather be safe than sorry.”

Red Cross officials in New York prepared to open as many as 50 shelters on Long Island that could house up to 60,000 people in an emergency.

Emergency officials on Cape Cod braced for their first major storm since Hurricane Bob brought winds of up to 100 mph to coastal New England in August 1991.

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Associated Press Writers Martha Waggoner and Emery Dalesio in Raleigh, N.C.; Tom Breen in Morehead City, N.C.; Bruce Smith in Kure Beach, N.C.; Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, S.C.; Suzette Laboy in Miami; Bob Lewis in Bristol, Va.; Dena Potter in Norfolk, Va.; Mark Pratt in Boston; Frank Eltman in Southampton, N.Y.; and Bruce Shipkowski in Trenton, N.J., contributed to this report.