Earl sideswipes NC, takes aim at New England
AP – A Coast Guard vessel is seen off the coast of Atlantic City, N.J., as Hurricane Earl moves up the eastern … CHATHAM, Mass. – A weakening but still dangerous Hurricane Earl steamed toward the gray-shingled cottages and fishing villages of Cape Cod on Friday, disrupting people's vacations on the unofficial final weekend of the short New England summer.
Packing winds of just 80 mph, the storm swirled up the Eastern Seaboard after sideswiping North Carolina's Outer Banks, where it caused flooding but no injuries and little damage. For the most part, it was expected to swing wide of New York City and Long Island, and much of the rest of the mid-Atlantic region, but pass close by Cape Cod, Nantucket Island and Martha's Vineyard late Friday night, bringing rain and high winds.
Vacationers pulled their boats from the water and canceled Labor Day weekend reservations on Nantucket, the well-to-do resort island and old-time whaling port expected to get the worst of the storm. Shopkeepers boarded up their windows. Swimmers in New England were warned to stay out of the water — or off the beach altogether — because of the danger of getting swept away by high waves.
Airlines canceled dozens of flights into New England, and Amtrak suspended train service between New York and Boston.
As of Friday afternoon, no large-scale evacuations were ordered for the Cape Cod area, where fishermen and other hardy year-round residents have been dealing with gusty nor'easters for generations.
"We kind of roll with the punches out here. It's not a huge deal for us," said Scott Thomas, president of the Nantucket Chamber of Commerce.
On Cape Cod, Ellen McDonough and a friend waited for one of the last ferries to Nantucket before service was suspended because of the approaching storm. "It's not a 3-foot snowstorm. I think us New Englanders are tough," McDonough said. "We've had this weekend planned, and no hurricane is going to stop us."
Nantucket Police Chief William Pittman warned island residents against complacency, saying Earl was still a dangerous storm with severe winds.
By midday Friday, Earl had dropped to a Category 1 storm — down from a fearsome Category 4 with 145 mph winds a day earlier. Forecasters said it could weaken to a tropical storm by the time it passed about 50 to 75 miles southeast of Nantucket.
As Earl lost steam and veered farther east, the National Hurricane Center reduced the New England areas under a hurricane warning to Cape Cod, Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, the elite vacation spot that President Barack Obama left just last weekend.
The National Weather Service was forecasting winds up to 65 mph on Nantucket with gusts up to 85 mph. On Cape Cod, winds up to 45 mph with gusts of up to 60 mph were expected.
The last time the Cape was hit directly by a hurricane was 1991, when Bob brought 75 mph gusts that ripped through the region's grassy dunes, snapped trees and tore roofs off the weathered gray homes.
Few seemed worried about a repeat Friday in Chatham, a fishing village at Cape Cod's eastern edge where tourists strolled past the bookstores, cafes and ice cream parlors on Main Street. A few stores had put plywood over their windows, including the Ben Franklin Old Fashioned Variety Store. "C'mon Earl, we're ready for you," a handwritten note read.
Earl was expected to remain more than 150 miles off New Jersey and the eastern tip of New York's Long Island as it made its way north. But it kicked up dangerous riptides up and down the coast. In New Jersey, two young men apparently died earlier this week in the rough surf caused by Earl and the hurricane before it, Danielle.
Rain from the outer bands of the hurricane forced a 25-minute delay at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York City.
On the Outer Banks, officials had urged some 35,000 visitors and residents to leave the dangerously exposed islands as the storm closed in, but hundreds chose to wait it out in their boarded-up homes.
Earl's winds had dropped to 105 mph by the time the storm brushed past the ribbon of islands before dawn, and the storm center got no closer to shore than 85 miles. Hurricane-force winds, which start at 74 mph, apparently did not even reach the Outer Banks, said the National Hurricane Center's chief forecaster, James Franklin.
North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue said there was no serious damage and urged people to get back out for the Labor Day weekend to "have a little fun and spend some money."
Nancy Scarborough of Cape Hatteras said she had about a foot of water underneath her home, which is on stilts. "Once it goes down, it shouldn't take long to get things back together," she said.
In Rhode Island, the popular tourist destination Block Island was expecting gusts as high as 60 mph. Gov. Don Carcieri warned of possible flooding on the mainland, and asked people to stay off the roads, but added: "Everything looks like we've dodged this."
Twenty miles out off the Maine coast, lobstermen on Matinicus Island were cautious after getting fooled by Hurricane Bill, which missed the mainland last year but sent tides and rough seas that destroyed their gear. This time, they moved their gear to the safety of deeper water or pulled their traps out altogether.
At Maine's Acadia National Park, officials closed most of a road where a 7-year-old girl was swept to her death by a 20-foot wave last year while watching the swells from Bill.
___
Associated Press writers Mike Baker in Buxton, N.C.; Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, S.C.; Michelle Smith in Providence, R.I.; David Sharp in Portland, Maine; and Lyle Moran, Denise Lavoie and Jay Lindsay in Boston contributed to this report.
Packing winds of just 80 mph, the storm swirled up the Eastern Seaboard after sideswiping North Carolina's Outer Banks, where it caused flooding but no injuries and little damage. For the most part, it was expected to swing wide of New York City and Long Island, and much of the rest of the mid-Atlantic region, but pass close by Cape Cod, Nantucket Island and Martha's Vineyard late Friday night, bringing rain and high winds.
Vacationers pulled their boats from the water and canceled Labor Day weekend reservations on Nantucket, the well-to-do resort island and old-time whaling port expected to get the worst of the storm. Shopkeepers boarded up their windows. Swimmers in New England were warned to stay out of the water — or off the beach altogether — because of the danger of getting swept away by high waves.
Airlines canceled dozens of flights into New England, and Amtrak suspended train service between New York and Boston.
As of Friday afternoon, no large-scale evacuations were ordered for the Cape Cod area, where fishermen and other hardy year-round residents have been dealing with gusty nor'easters for generations.
"We kind of roll with the punches out here. It's not a huge deal for us," said Scott Thomas, president of the Nantucket Chamber of Commerce.
On Cape Cod, Ellen McDonough and a friend waited for one of the last ferries to Nantucket before service was suspended because of the approaching storm. "It's not a 3-foot snowstorm. I think us New Englanders are tough," McDonough said. "We've had this weekend planned, and no hurricane is going to stop us."
Nantucket Police Chief William Pittman warned island residents against complacency, saying Earl was still a dangerous storm with severe winds.
By midday Friday, Earl had dropped to a Category 1 storm — down from a fearsome Category 4 with 145 mph winds a day earlier. Forecasters said it could weaken to a tropical storm by the time it passed about 50 to 75 miles southeast of Nantucket.
As Earl lost steam and veered farther east, the National Hurricane Center reduced the New England areas under a hurricane warning to Cape Cod, Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, the elite vacation spot that President Barack Obama left just last weekend.
The National Weather Service was forecasting winds up to 65 mph on Nantucket with gusts up to 85 mph. On Cape Cod, winds up to 45 mph with gusts of up to 60 mph were expected.
The last time the Cape was hit directly by a hurricane was 1991, when Bob brought 75 mph gusts that ripped through the region's grassy dunes, snapped trees and tore roofs off the weathered gray homes.
Few seemed worried about a repeat Friday in Chatham, a fishing village at Cape Cod's eastern edge where tourists strolled past the bookstores, cafes and ice cream parlors on Main Street. A few stores had put plywood over their windows, including the Ben Franklin Old Fashioned Variety Store. "C'mon Earl, we're ready for you," a handwritten note read.
Earl was expected to remain more than 150 miles off New Jersey and the eastern tip of New York's Long Island as it made its way north. But it kicked up dangerous riptides up and down the coast. In New Jersey, two young men apparently died earlier this week in the rough surf caused by Earl and the hurricane before it, Danielle.
Rain from the outer bands of the hurricane forced a 25-minute delay at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York City.
On the Outer Banks, officials had urged some 35,000 visitors and residents to leave the dangerously exposed islands as the storm closed in, but hundreds chose to wait it out in their boarded-up homes.
Earl's winds had dropped to 105 mph by the time the storm brushed past the ribbon of islands before dawn, and the storm center got no closer to shore than 85 miles. Hurricane-force winds, which start at 74 mph, apparently did not even reach the Outer Banks, said the National Hurricane Center's chief forecaster, James Franklin.
North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue said there was no serious damage and urged people to get back out for the Labor Day weekend to "have a little fun and spend some money."
Nancy Scarborough of Cape Hatteras said she had about a foot of water underneath her home, which is on stilts. "Once it goes down, it shouldn't take long to get things back together," she said.
In Rhode Island, the popular tourist destination Block Island was expecting gusts as high as 60 mph. Gov. Don Carcieri warned of possible flooding on the mainland, and asked people to stay off the roads, but added: "Everything looks like we've dodged this."
Twenty miles out off the Maine coast, lobstermen on Matinicus Island were cautious after getting fooled by Hurricane Bill, which missed the mainland last year but sent tides and rough seas that destroyed their gear. This time, they moved their gear to the safety of deeper water or pulled their traps out altogether.
At Maine's Acadia National Park, officials closed most of a road where a 7-year-old girl was swept to her death by a 20-foot wave last year while watching the swells from Bill.
___
Associated Press writers Mike Baker in Buxton, N.C.; Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, S.C.; Michelle Smith in Providence, R.I.; David Sharp in Portland, Maine; and Lyle Moran, Denise Lavoie and Jay Lindsay in Boston contributed to this report.
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15 comments:
What! Did I see little ole Halifax? Nice.
Great clips. Thanks.
Bracing for a lot of wind and rain early tomorrow morning from Earl. should cool things off though!
Jim
Hey. . . get ready. This current report "origins" in our town. . ;-)
Raining. . .winds blowing but not at all as wild as might come late this evening and into the night. . . .They tell us when we get up in the morning Earl will be gone and the sun will be shining!
Aint that noice? hahahaa
JIM, may your Earl experience be as OK as ours. Btw, close the windows. . .haha
justin
This is God's way of punishing all you sinners ya know...
and why my town in Oz is peaceful and calm. :-P
Seriously, I checked out some of the pics of Earl and they weren't pretty. All that water and wind. Bleh.
I hope you're right about Earl being gone tomorrow, and the weather returning to sunny and pleasant.
i hope my whales didn't go to Nantucket for tea today. And to think, i was in your town, gee.
You should be in a time warp right now, staring in your bedroom at the battered art deco furniture, hearing the moan of the wind and the drumbeat rain, smelling the tropic air mixed with dust and the scent of spent linen, and reprising Key Largo without Bogart, Bacall, and Edward G. Robinson. Before you turn in, go to the porch with your last gin and tonic and drink the storm.
Must be a lot of sinners here then! Earl is here and just a blowin! Expect to lose 'power' anytime now and a few trees 'to boot'.
Enjoy your sunshine!
Jim
I can see it!. . .LOL I have a good imagination, J. . . tho' I've never seen the flick KeyLargo I do know the song. . .and since I've brought it to surface, I'll be singing snatches of the song off n on all day. . .LOL
As for drinking to the storm. . .will Sprite do? ;-)
Tis' a luvely morning, clean and swept. . .a few branches here and there; nothing major. One spot on the porch had a bit of drifted sand. . . I looked down onto the beach below. . .not much there, except a bit more white sand, it appears. . ocean is still choppy and high surf. . .We never lost ower. . .and of course the grand old house stands firm and solid. . there were some creakings now and then. . .minor. . .or it might have been a bed. . .donno. . . ;-)
The urchins were well content to remain downstairs with their parents. The heavy rain and that at-times howling wind was enough to keep them settled. . and mostly asleep.
Once I settled down the wind-driven rain on the windows didn't bother me at all. . . and since Peter wasn't on early bakery watch, no need to get up early. . .uummmmm.
Our town was featured often on NECN as a reporting spot in the storm. I checked the cams in P'town amd the one at Spiritus Pizza. . .very wet. . no sign of peeps. . guess everyone was trundled up in their rooms. . . .
So, signing out from O'Shea Watch.
ciao All Y'ALL. . .
justino
Saw your little ole' town several times on the news. Kept expecting to see you run naked on the beach behind one of the reporters.
It looks like the cold front I sent you worked. Glad everything came out in one piece.
Saunter? Yes. Streak? NOPE! hahahaa
But, down the Dunes, on our own beach I've been known to streak. . .naked as the day I was born, just taller,bigger. . . .hahahahahaaa
justino
Sounds like the old house has survived yet another storm. Imagine the tales it could tell if those weatherboards could speak.
As to J's comment... Bogey's last reported words were, "I should never have swapped scotch for gin and tonics."
Note that he didn't mention Sprite.
Bogey was once asked if he'd ever gone on the wagon, and he said, "Yeah... and it was the worst afternoon of my life."
hahahaaaa. . .funny.
With a slice of lemon or lime Sprite could pass for a g.'n't.. . .nonne?
I once heard of a therapist who, during sessions with clients, always had a glass of ice cubes and water which he sipped while listening. . . .
He forgot that GIN has a very distinct aroma. . . .LOL
Hmmm. . .wonder what his last-of- the-day 5 p.m. session was like. . .;-))
dr. o'shea
Justin, we survived Earl and much like your place only fallen branches and a lot of leaf debris everywhere. Glad all that is over.
You like the chimes? All you have to do is click the chime pic and it will take you to this Japanese web site. Click the 'translate' button, unless you are fluent in Japanese, and copy & paste what they tell you to.....and go from there.
Hey, if I did it, anyone can.
Yes, off to PEI in the morning for a week.....my nephew has 2 cottages there and offered them to us. Nice!
Have a great weekend.
Jim
Dr O'Shea.
Yeah... I suppose we'll have to get used to that one day.
Comes as a bit of shock though. You're still a kid!
A bit of a shock for me too! hahahaa
But there is something nice about it. . too. . ..but I hope to be just plain Justin. . much wiser, more loving and compassionate. . . available in need. . .using what I have been given. . .for others. . I think this would make me very happy. ;-).
I hope none of this "Dr" 'goes to my head'
justino
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