(NECN/CNN/iReport) - Hurricane Earl continues to pick up more power in the Atlantic Ocean.
As of this morning, the Category 2 hurricane was centered east-northeast of the island of Saint Maarten, according to the National Hurricane Center.
iReporter Francois Rivalain shares video of the growing wind and surf on Sunday.
Hurricane Earl continues to pick up more power in the Atlantic
Ocean, with winds whipping at about 105 mph (165 kph) and forcing even stronger
gusts.
As of Monday morning, the Category 2 hurricane was centered east of
Puerto Rico, about 50 miles (75 kilometers) east-northeast of St. Martin,
according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida. It was headed
west-northwest at about 15 mph (24 kph).
Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and the Leeward Islands could get up to
eight inches of rain and as much as 12 inches in isolated areas with higher
elevations, the hurricane center said. "These rains could cause
life-threatening flash floods and mudslides," the center said.
Earl is expected to gain more force and "become a major hurricane," by
late Monday or early Tuesday, the weather agency said.
A hurricane warning is now in effect for islands including Antigua and
Barbuda, Montserrat, St. Martin, the British Virgin Islands and the U.S. Virgin
Islands.
Storm surging is expected to raise water levels by up to four feet above
ground level in the hurricane warning area, the weather agency said. The surge
"will be accompanied by large and dangerous battering waves," according to the
hurricane center.
A hurricane watch and a tropical storm warning are in effect for Puerto
Rico.
Earl could affect areas in the United States from the Carolinas to Cape
Cod, Massachusetts, over Labor Day weekend, said CNN meteorologist Jacqui
Jeras.
It is too soon to tell whether the storm could make landfall, she said.
However, outer bands of the storm are likely to hit North Carolina beginning
Thursday, kicking up large swells and possibly generating rip currents through
Labor Day weekend, Jeras said.
Meanwhile, Hurricane Danielle was weakening Monday morning in northern
Atlantic Ocean, the hurricane center said. As of 4 a.m. ET, Danielle was about
440 miles (705 km) south of Canada's far east coast.
Danielle's maximum sustained winds have dropped to about 75 mph (120 kph)
-- barely qualifying the cyclone as a hurricane. It was moving northeast at
about 17 mph (28 kph), the hurricane center said. No coastal warnings or
watches are in effect from Danielle.
