A temporary weakening trend took place as Earl moved northwestward, contributed to moderate southwesterly wind shear, but intensification later resumed by September 1.

Executing a gradual curve to the northeast, the hurricane slowly weakened over decreasing sea surface temperatures; the storm's center passed roughly 85 mi (137 km) east of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina on September 3.

Accelerating northeastward, the system briefly weakened to a tropical storm before reattaining hurricane strength as it made landfall near Western Head, Nova Scotia.

In the Lesser Antilles, the storm brought strong winds, damaging houses and toppling trees, signs, and power lines, resulting in hundreds of thousands of electrical outages.

Along the coast of the Eastern United States, tropical storm-force winds affected portions of North Carolina and Massachusetts; however, little damage resulted, totaling about $3.8 million in the Outer Banks.

In Nova Scotia, Canada, where Earl made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane, one person drowned and hundreds of thousands of people lost power for days.

[3] Because of the area's increasing thunderstorm organization, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) indicated on August 24 that the system had a 90% chance of becoming a tropical depression within the next 48 hours.

[4] 18 hours later, the NHC classified the system as Tropical Depression Seven at around 1500 UTC on August 25, while it was located about 430 mi (690 km) west of the southernmost Cape Verde Islands.

[7] However, dry air caught in Earl's circulation precluded additional intensification,[8] causing the storm to maintain 45 mph (72 km/h) maximum sustained winds for 36 hours.

[24] Hurricane Earl later attained its peak intensity during the morning of September 2 with winds of 145 mph (233 km/h) and a barometric pressure of 928 mbar (hPa; 27.40 inHg).

Embedded within the mid-latitude westerlies, a gradual northeasterly turn was expected over the following day, preventing Earl from making landfall along the East Coast of the United States.

[26] Around 0600 UTC the next morning, the storm made its closest approach to the United States, passing roughly 85 mi (137 km) east of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina with winds of 105 mph (169 km/h).

The storm made landfall in Queens County near Western Head, Nova Scotia around 1400 UTC on September 4, as a Category 1 hurricane with sustained winds of 75 mph (121 km/h).

[49] Although not in the direct path of Hurricane Earl, officials in the Dominican Republic prompted evacuations of coastal towns and canceled flights across the country.

[50] As Hurricane Earl moved away from the eastern Caribbean on August 31, the NHC began issuing storm watches for the United States East Coast.

[69] Later that day, the tropical storm watch was expanded northward to Point Tupper and a new one was issued for Prince Edward Island and parts of eastern New Brunswick.

[78] Because anticipated landfall would take place at low neap tide and storm surge would be minimal, no mandatory evacuation orders were issued,[78] although some marinas required boats to be moved to safer mooring.

Following the passage of Earl, Philmore Mullin, Director of the National Office of Disaster Services, expressed his concern for the lack of action taken by residents prior to the hurricane's arrival.

A three-month recovery operation was implemented within days of the storm's passage and focused on providing shelter and sustenance for the 1,000 families displaced by Earl.

[86] In Saint Martin the highest gust reach 83 mph (134 km/h) on the French side as the minimal pressure record at 983.3 mb in Grand Case and the total rainfall was 98,0 mm.

[97] Throughout the United States Virgin Islands, high winds, gusting up to 69 mph (111 km/h),[98] and heavy rains, peaking at 3.02 in (77 mm) on St. Thomas,[99] caused significant damage to roadways and power lines.

[101] In March 2011, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) granted $555,219 in public assistance funding to cover the costs from Earl in the Virgin Islands.

[114][115] Although the center of Hurricane Earl passed roughly 100 mi (160 km) off the coast of North Carolina, its large size brought just under hurricane-force winds and a significant storm surge.

[124][125] Nearly two weeks after Earl's passage, the North Carolina Department of Transportation began to pick up debris left alongside roads in the wake of the storm.

[135] In Long Island, New York, heavy surf produced by Earl inundated much of Jones Beach State Park, leading to officials closing the area for several days.

An estimated $30 million was spent to bring in an additional 1,600 crewmen to deal with possible power outages despite forecasts showing Earl missing the state.

[142] Late on September 3, a weakened Tropical Storm Earl brushed New England, with its center passing roughly 90 mi (140 km) south-southeast of Nantucket, Massachusetts.

[153] Prior to Earl's arrival, a dry spell left several brooks and streams nearly empty; however, the rainfall from the storm alleviated the drought conditions.

[152] According to state transportation officials, northbound and southbound traffic along the Maine Turnpike was down 19% and 2.7% respectively, indicating that many tourists who were expected to travel to the region changed their plans.

[154] Hurricane Earl came ashore in Queens County near Western Head, Nova Scotia on September 4 around 10:00 am (1400 UTC), as a category 1 storm with sustained winds of 75 mph (121 km/h).