Hurricane Earl mellows down, still threatens Cape Cod
Hurricane Earl intensified as it approaches the Eastern Coast, moving toward the island of Nantucket in Massachusetts by midnight.
According to forecasters, the hurricane will slowly wither away as the day passes by and will turn into a Category 1 or Category 2 storm. It will move towards Nantucket, including Martha’s Vineyard, Cape Cod, and Plymouth. Winds will be gusting up to 100 miles per hour.
According to National Hurricane Center (NHC) director Bill Read that if they perfectly forecasted the behavior of Earl, its eye will be huge by the time that it passes by the said places.
Residents in the Nantucket worry about the effects of Earl to their island. They are also concerned of the possibility of a reoccurrence of the effects of Hurricane Bob in 1991, which eroded their beaches. Preparations in the area were done earlier, as people stacked sandbag after sandbag to protect the downtown area against storm surges. Boats were removed from the harbor, while others were brought to safer places.
Assistant town manager Gregg Tivnan said that they are preparing for the worst-case scenario. He also stated that the residents in Nantucket are very resilient. The residents will say that it is just wind and rain, but they are also preparing, Tivnan added.
Earl lost most of its sustained winds of 145 miles per hour to the cold water at the northern part of the tropics in Wednesday. However, the size of the storm still expands, with storm clouds extending to 400 miles.
Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick declared a state of emergency in his area of responsibility and he issued orders to the National Guards to help on the effort. In an interview, the governor stated that he is asking everyone not to panic and urged the people to prepare a day’s supple of water, medicine, and other things needed for emergencies.
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