Hurricane Earl is lashing the northeastern Caribbean today. Presently Earl is a category 3 storm, but it is gaining strength as hit heads on a course that could threaten the eastern United States later this week.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Earl, which formed on Sunday, was already a major hurricane with sustained winds of 120 mph, and it was likely to keep gaining force. Coastal states from North Carolina to Maine system are eying the system.

According to most computer models, the storm’s track will likely run north of the Caribbean, then bend straight to the north, roughly parallel to the U.S. East Coast. It is much too early to definitively predict the direction of Earl’s path, or the effect it will have on the U.S.

“God, we pray for those in the Caribbean currently impacted by Hurricane Earl. We pray for safety and protection of people and property. We pray too that the path of the storm would steer it away from creating great destruction and harm. Nature is your creation and hurricanes are part of the grand balance you have formed. Our lands need the rain of these storms. Still, we pray that the benefits of the storm would come without the destruction. Keep your hand upon this storm. Let your will be done, in Jesus…”