Hurricane Earl has weakened a bit, but the storm is still packing winds near 125 mph as it blows toward North Carolina's coast.

The Canadian Hurricane Centre has added a hurricane watch for Nova Scotia to the long list of warnings and watches in effect for a huge swath of the U.S. East Coast.

Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Craig Fugate said residents and tourists can no longer afford to wait on the next forecast to see how close the eye of the storm might get.

The American Red Cross of Greater Rochester has volunteers ready to help out in response to Hurricane Earl.

An emergency response vehicle and about 50 local volunteers are on standby at this point, waiting to get the call if they are needed. If Hurricane Earl ends up heading toward land that could very well happen.

Hurricane Earl is on track to come close to the North Carolina shore late Thursday or early Friday. If it turns to the north later than expected its eye would make landfall on the eastern tip of North Carolina and hurricane-force winds could also reach Long Island and Cape Cod in Massachusetts.

Local Red Cross CEO John Buttrill said the primary focus is on the Carolinas right now, but that could change along with the storm.

"If it does keep going up the coast with this kind of strength, it could hit New York, boston or Maine and we have to be prepared for that. So we've got people all up and down the coast that are getting ready," Buttrill said.

Whether or not Hurricane Earl ends up wreaking havoc, there is still Hurricane Fiona behind it and then another tropical storm behind that.

The Red Cross points out that all of its efforts are voluntary, so it can use any financial support it can get right now.

Greater Rochester Red Cross