* Earl expected to become major hurricane
* Hurricane warnings in the Caribbean
* Danielle, weakening moving farther from East Coast
(Updates strength, locations, other details)
MIAMI, Aug 29 (Reuters) - Hurricane Earl strengthened to a Category 2 storm on a track toward islands in the eastern Caribbean on Sunday, while Hurricane Danielle weakened to a Category 1 storm, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
Earl had sustained winds of near 100 miles per hour (160 kph) by late Sunday, when it was about 130 miles (215 km) east of St Martin and moving west-northwest.
Warnings advising of high winds and other hurricane conditions within 24 hours went up on popular tourist islands, including Antigua, St. Kitts, Nevis, Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands and St. Maarten, the hurricane center said. Earl was moving at 15 mph (24 kph).
"Earl is expected to become a major hurricane by late Monday," the hurricane center said.
Forecasts showed Earl keeping to its current path before accelerating northward off the U.S. East Coast later in the week, far from the oil-producing Gulf Coast region.
Government officials issued hurricane watches cautioning of possible hurricane weather within 36 hours for the United States Virgin Islands and, possibly, Puerto Rico.
Caribbean airline LIAT canceled 41 flights to several destinations in the eastern Caribbean and shut down its reservation service because of Earl's approach, according to a company statement.
Now far out at sea, Hurricane Danielle had been a major Category 4 storm before weakening to a Category 1 and was about 510 miles (825 km) south of Newfoundland Sunday evening. Its top sustained winds fell to 80 mph (130 kph), after moving past the British island territory of Bermuda and further from North America's East Coast.
Danielle was expected to weaken gradually in the next two days and lose its tropical characteristics.
The hurricane center said it expected large waves and dangerous surf conditions to diminish near Bermuda and subside slowly along the U.S. East Coast within the next two days.
"It looks like we dodged a bullet," said Bermuda bank employee Stuart Roberts, 31.
Forecasters in Miami were also watching a low pressure system of storms midway between Africa and the Lesser Antilles that was likely to come together as a tropical depression at any time. They predicted the unnamed system had an 80 percent likelihood of becoming a tropical storm during the next two days. (Reporting by Michael Connor; additional reporting by Linda Hutchinson in Port of Spain, Peter Cooney in Washington and Sam Strangeways in Bermuda; Editing by Eric Walsh)
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