Hurricane Earl took aim at North Carolina on Thursday and was on track to lash its barrier islands with dangerous winds and pounding surf before cutting a path up the U.S. East Coast to Canada. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said the massive Category 3 storm on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of intensity had top sustained winds of 125 mph (205 kph) after weakening slightly from its expected peak wind-strength early on Thursday.