Hurricane Arthur hits land

Photo: The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

This Wednesday, July 2, 2014, satellite image taken at 3:35 p.m. EDT and released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), shows Tropical Storm Arthur moving north off the east coast of Florida. (AP Photo/NOAA)

UPDATED 9:30 P.M.

Hurricane Arthur has made landfall on North Carolina's Outer Banks off the U.S. East Coast.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Arthur reached land about 11:15 p.m. Thursday between Cape Lookout and Beaufort, North Carolina.

Arthur was a Category 2 storm with maximum sustained winds of 100 mph (155 kph).

The storm was located about 65 miles (105 kilometres) southwest of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. It was moving northeast at 18 mph (30 kph).

Forecasters say the season's first hurricane is expected to bring significant rain and wind to Atlantic Canada on Saturday, although it's too early to tell exactly which areas will be hit the hardest.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center says Arthur became a hurricane today, with maximum sustained winds of about 120 kilometres an hour.

Canadian forecasters say a trough of low pressure will move eastward from the Great Lakes and guide the storm towards Atlantic Canada.

The Canadian Hurricane Centre says the nature of the trough will affect Arthur's intensity and track as it moves north.

The centre says the storm’s projected track has been moved slightly to the west.

It says Nova Scotia will likely experience the highest winds, while New Brunswick and P.E.I. could see the heaviest rainfall.

The forecaster says anywhere from 50 to 100 millimetres could fall.