Flooding from Hurricane Arthur is pictured on the Outer Banks of North Carolina in this July 4, 2014 aerial handout photo provided by the U.S. Coast Guard.

KILL DEVIL HILLS, North Carolina: Hurricane Arthur has weakened to Category 1 storm in the Atlantic after bringing flooding and power outages to North Carolina’s Outer Banks overnight.

The US National Hurricane Center says Arthur’s maximum sustained winds have decreased to 90 mph (144 kph) with additional weakening expected.

The first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season has upended plans along the East Coast for America’s Independence Day. Meanwhile, a new tropical storm warning was issued for Nova Scotia in Canada, where Arthur is expected to head as it moves northeast.

Arthur prompted a hurricane warning from the southern North Carolina coast to the Virginia border. Tropical storm warnings were in effect for coastal areas as far north as Cape Cod, Massachusetts. A tropical storm watch was in effect for Nova Scotia in Canada.

Arthur forced thousands of vacationers in North Carolina to abandon their Independence Day plans, while cities farther up the US East Coast rescheduled fireworks displays threatened by the storm.

The annual Boston Pops Fourth of July concert and fireworks show, one of the signature events of America’s Fourth of July holiday, was rescheduled for Thursday because of potential heavy rain, while fireworks displays in New Jersey and Maine were postponed until later in the weekend.
Up to more than 22,000 were without power across the Carolinas early Friday, according to Duke Energy’s website.

“We’re most concerned about flooding inland and also storm surges in our sounds and our rivers further inland,” North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory said Thursday.

Before the storm hit, North Carolina tourism officials had expected 250,000 people to travel to the Outer Banks for the holiday weekend. After passing over North Carolina early Friday, Hurricane Arthur was expected to weaken as it traveled northward and dump rain along the East Coast.

[wpResize]