HURRICANE Earl weakened today to a Category Two storm as it approached the US east coast but continued to wreck havoc on coastal communities as tourists fled potentially affected areas and events, including a Ke$ha concert, were cancelled.

Rainbands moved on to the coast of North Carolina as Earl continued to move northward today at about 18 miles per hour (30kph), according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).

As of 8pm EDT the center of Earl was located about 160 miles (260km) south-southeast of Cape Hatteras.

It was expected to pass near the Outer Banks barrier islands later later that night and approach southeastern New England Friday night local time.

Tropical storm force winds were expected to reach the North Carolina coast within the warning area soon. Earl will also bring rainfall of between two to four inches (5-10cm), and up to six inches (15cm) in some areas, officials said.

“Maximum sustained winds have decreased to near 100 miles per hour (175kph) with higher gusts,” the NHC said.

“Earl is now a Category Two hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale.

“Additional weakening is expected tonight and Friday but Earl is expected to remain a large and strong hurricane as it passes near the Outer Banks.”

The timing of Hurricane Earl is of concern as it appears likely to hit North Carolina about 2am Friday local time, roughly coinciding with high tide on the state’s shores, Dow Jones Newswires reported.

This will magnify the storm surge, the wall of water that a hurricane pushes across the ocean, and increase the chances of flooding at the shore and along tributaries that feed into the ocean. The surge will be accompanied by “large and destructive waves,” the NHC said.

The state is “very vulnerable to storm surge,” said Peter Dailey, director of atmospheric science at AIR Worldwide, a firm that models the effects of catastrophes.

Some places will see a storm surge of as much as four feet (1.2m) on top of the high tide, he said in a statement, and “the combination of surge and waves is likely to result in significant erosion and overwash,” or water that washes over the dunes.

The NHC said the dangerous storm surge will raise water levels by as much as three to five feet (1-1.5m) above ground level within the hurricane warning area over N.C. and the lower Chesapeake Bay.

However, the faster Earl passes by, the less chance it has to do damage to North Carolina’s beaches and property. It is also expected to swipe the state with its weaker left side, according to officials.

Large swells from Earl would continue to affect the Bahamas and the east coast of the US through Friday. These swells would likely cause dangerous surf conditions and rip currents.

Cancellations were mounting in Massachusetts around Cape Cod and Islands, with beaches, state campgrounds, and ferries to Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket shut down.

Emergency officials in the Cape Cod town of Chatham were recommending that residents evacuate.

Evacuations of North Carolina’s Outer Banks were also under way, and the governors of North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland have declared states of emergency.

Along Highway 12, the Outer Banks’ oceanfront road lined with vacation rentals, tourists were grabbing their swimsuits off clotheslines and packing their cars with grocery bags of uneaten food, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Visitors were leaving the beaches in droves, many in minivans packed with bicycles and roof-top cargo containers.

But a few daredevils - kite-boarders and hang-gliders - were out testing nature in the Outer Banks.

The hurricane also caused the cancellation of some weekend concerts in New Jersey and Canada, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Ke$ha was scheduled to perform at the Rockin’ the Upper East Side Music Festival in St. John’s, Newfoundland on Sept. 5, but due to the weather the pop singer - along with other acts like the Goo Goo Dolls and Lifehouse - will not play.

Meanwhile, the Sweet Soul and Rock & Roll concert, scheduled to take place this Saturday at the Wildwood Convention Center in New Jersey, was also canceled by organizers. Classic acts like the Spinners, Little Anthony and the Imperials and the Temptations Review featuring Dennis Edwards were scheduled to perform.

A Boston Pops concert at McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, featuring Kenny Loggins as a special guest, were rescheduled for September 10 from this weekend.

It is possible there will be more cancellations as the Hurricane Earl moves north.

A hurricane warning has been issued for the area from North Carolina’s Bogue Inlet to the North Carolina-Virginia border and for the coast of Massachusetts from Westport eastward around Cape Cod to Hull. The warning includes the islands of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, the NHC said.

A hurricane watch was in effect from north of the North Carolina-Virginia border to Delaware’s Cape Henlopen.

Meantime, a tropical storm warning was in effect for the area from New Haven, Conn., to west of Westport, Mass. A tropical storm warning was also in effect from Cape Fear to west of Bogue Inlet in North Carolina, north of the North Carolina border to Sandy Hook, N.J. and for the eastern portion of Long Island, N.Y., from Fire Island Inlet to Port Jefferson Harbor.

The NHC also said a tropical storm watch was in effect for the coast of Long Island west of the Fire Island inlet on the south shore and west of Port Jefferson Harbor on the north shore. There was also a watch on parts of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and north of Hull, Mass. to Eastport, Maine.

Earlier Thursday, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said President Barack Obama was “closely monitoring and aggressively preparing for the storm as it continues to head toward the East Coast.”

He said Mr Obama signed a pre-landfall emergency declaration for North Carolina Wednesday night that ensures the state “has what it needs” ahead of Earl’s arrival.