NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hurricane Earl continued to track up the Eastern Seaboard on Friday as a weak Category One storm on its way toward New England and then Canada.
Earl was located about 230 miles south-southwest of Nantucket, Massachusetts, moving north-northeast at a quick 22 mph (35 km per hour) with maximum sustained winds down to 80 mph from 85 mph at midday.
While Earl was not forecast to make U.S. landfall, it was expected to steer along the Eastern Seaboard and approach southeastern New England by Friday evening and then move into Canada on Saturday.
Further weakening was forecast, and winds were expected to drop to tropical storm strength below 70 mph on Saturday.
Oil refiners and power plant operators along the U.S. and Canadian East Coast were making preparations for Earl as it worked its way up the seaboard.
Tropical Storm Fiona also weakened on Friday, as maximum sustained winds dropped to 40 mph from 45 mph earlier.
Further weakening was forecast during the next 48 hours, and Fiona could become a tropical depression or degenerate into a remnant low during the next day or so.
Fiona was located in the western Atlantic about 165 miles south-southwest of Bermuda, moving north-northeast at about 14 mph. The system was expected to pass near Bermuda overnight.
Meanwhile, the remnant low pressure area of former Tropical Storm Gaston in the central Atlantic Ocean was given a medium, 50 percent, chance of redeveloping during the next 48 hours, up from 40 percent earlier, NHC said.
The Gaston remnant was located about halfway between the Cape Verde Islands and the Lesser Antilles moving west at about 10 mph.
NHC said conditions favor slow development of this low-pressure system during the next couple of days.
Gaston strengthened into a tropical storm on Wednesday, then weakened to a depression and a remnant low on Thursday.
NHC was also monitoring a tropical wave located off the west coast of Africa, where conditions also appear conducive for slow development. The system was getting better organized, and NHC gave it a 30 percent chance of becoming a tropical cyclone during the next 48 hours, up from 20 percent earlier.
(Reporting by Joe Silha; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
