On August 23, a Tropical Wave moved off the East coast of Africa. Two days later Tropical Depression Seven formed East of Hurricane Danielle, and later strengthened and became Tropical Storm Earl on the same day. On August 29th, Earl strengthened into a hurricane. On August 30, Earl impacted the northern Leeward Islands including Antigua and Barbuda and the British Virgin Islands, while at the same time strengthening into a Category 4 hurricane. After moving away from the Leeward Islands, Earl was downgraded to a Category 3 hurricane due to changes in the eyewall of the storm. However, the hurricane quickly intensified back to a Category 4. Earl passed Cape Hatteras in the U.S. state of North Carolina on September 2nd, bringing heavy rainfall and strong winds to the area. Buildings in the area were not damaged much, as houses along the coast were built to stand against hurricanes. Earl travelled north along the U.S. coast, weakening down to a tropical storm when it reached Nova Scotia in Canada.