So far, the threat of Hurricane Earl’s arrival does not appear to have discouraged vacationers along the Currituck Outer Banks.

Jeff Tack, general manager for the Hampton Inn in Corolla said “only a handful” of reservations have been cancelled. The inn has shortened its cancellation deadline from 72 hours to 24 hours to give vacationers more time to assess the threat.

Beach rentals have not been affected yet by the storm, said Jon Summerton, vice president for Twiddy and Company Realtors. Vacationers appear to be waiting until the hurricane moves closer to the East Coast before deciding if they should cancel, said Summerton. With bookings at 95 percent full for Labor Day week, the company has received no cancellation requests so far.

North Carolina officials late Tuesday announced the first evacuation would be Ocracoke Island beginning at 5 a.m. Wednesday. Tourists would be ordered to leave the barrier island accessible only by ferries, but those who live there year-round have the option to stay.

On Tuesday, federal officials urged U.S. residents to prepare for possible evacuations and islanders in the Turks and Caicos hunkered down in their homes as powerful Hurricane Earl howled over open seas toward the East Coast of the U.S.

The Category 4 hurricane, with winds of 135 mph, was expected to remain over the open ocean before turning north and running parallel to the U.S. coast, potentially reaching the North Carolina coastal region by late Thursday or early Friday. It was projected then to curve back out to sea, perhaps swiping New England or far-eastern Canada.

“We can’t totally rule out a very close approach to either of the Cape Hatteras areas or Cape Cod and southern New England as the storm progresses further,” said Bill Read, director of the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami.

Emergency management officials in Dare and Currituck counties had issued no evacuations for the more vulnerable stretches of the Outer Banks by Tuesday afternoon. Residents and vacationers in the Carova Beach 4-wheel drive area were advised that the hurricane could result in high surf, storm surge and beach erosion that could render the beach road impassable. Localized flooding along N.C. Highway 12 may also occur, officials warned.

According to the National Weather Service’s current forecast, the Outer Banks could experience sustained winds of at least 39 mph by 11 p.m. on Thursday. These sustained winds are expected to affect Currituck County at approximately 9 a.m. on Friday.

In Corolla, vacationers are filling the beaches as usual, said Diane Nordstrom, tourism director for Currituck County. They have been warned to be prepared should evacuations be ordered, but the threat of the hurricane’s approach by week’s end does not appear to have impacted vacation plans at present, she said. The changeover of vacationers on Saturday could be impacted although current projections indicate the hurricane will have already passed the area by then.

In Pasquotank and Camden, emergency management officials say they are closely monitoring the hurricane’s path but have not issued any hurricane advisories.

Earl delivered a glancing blow to several small Caribbean islands Monday, tearing roofs off of homes and cutting electricity to people in Anguilla, Antigua, and St. Maarten. Cruise ships were diverted and flights canceled across the region. But there were no reports of death or injury.

By midday Tuesday, Earl’s center was about 170 miles (275 kilometers) east of Grand Turk island as it headed west-northwest at 14 mph (22 kph), according to the hurricane center.

Close on Earl’s heels, Tropical Storm Fiona formed Monday afternoon in the open Atlantic.

The storm, with maximum winds of 40 mph (65 kph), was projected to pass just north of the Leeward Islands by Wednesday and stay farther out in the Atlantic than Earl’s northward path. Fiona was not expected to reach hurricane strength over the next several days.