NEW : Just before 11 p.m . ET , sustained winds reported at 105 mph . Earl is now a strong Category 2 storm . In U.S. , warnings and watches stretch from North Carolina to Massachusetts . It covers about 166,000 square miles -- larger than California , which covers just under 160,000 square miles . The National Hurricane Center says that the center of Tropical Storm Earl has moved into the Gulf of Mexico near Corpus Christi in Texas.
NEW : Just before 11 p.m . ET , sustained winds reported at 105 mph . Earl is now a strong Category 2 storm . In U.S. , warnings and watches stretch from North Carolina to Massachusetts . The National Hurricane Center says that the center of Tropical Storm Earl has moved into the Gulf of Mexico near Corpus Christi in Texas.