By Jonathan L'Ecuyer
Staff Writer
—
The National Weather Service issued a tropical storm watch for much of the eastern Massachusetts coast, including Cape Ann, late Wednesday afternoon as powerful Hurricane Earl bears down on the East Coast — while a hurricane watch now extends to Cape Cod and the islands.
Cape Ann emergency officials are checking their equipment and urging people to have disaster plans and supplies ready.
According to Accuweather meteorologist Heather Buchman, Earl is expected to weaken slightly as it approaches New England Friday night and pass between 50 and 100 miles east of Nantucket late Friday night and early Saturday morning.
While Cape Cod and the islands are expected to be hit with the worst weather, with winds possibly exceeding 74 miles per hour, high waves, and dangerous rip currents, forecasters say the rest of the Massachusetts coastline — including Gloucester and the towns of Cape Ann — is likely to see tropical storm-force wind gusts, heavy rain, some beach erosion, and dangerous rip tides — all just in time for the start of the long Labor Day weekend.
Earl is currently a large, Category 4 storm with hurricane-force winds extending outward up to 90 miles and tropical storm-force winds reaching 200 miles out from its well-defined eye.
Tropical storm-force winds range from 39 to 73 miles per hour while Hurricane winds are 74 mph or higher. The National Hurricane Center defines a tropical storm watch as conditions (sustained winds of 39 mph or higher) that are "possible" within the specified coastal area within 48 hours.
The tragic death of a recreational fishermen who fell into the water off Gloucester's Eastern Point and another near-tragedy in Magnolia during Tuesday afternoon's high tide came during unusually powerful currents that produced riptides and undertows at Cape Ann's big beaches, where at least a dozen were helped from the water by lifeguards.
Gloucester Mayor Carolyn Kirk has also outlined a safety plan that includes stationing medical personnel from the Fire Department and police officers for enforcement, along with lifeguards at the beaches to ensure safety.
The scene was similar Wednesday in Rockport, where red flags could be seen waving from lifeguard posts at Cape Hedge and Long Beach. Police officers were stationed on either end of Long Beach keeping people off of the rocks and helping lifeguards to enforce a waist-deep wading limit.
Gloucester Assistant Harbormaster Jim Marshall said fishermen and boaters were being urged to check their gear and make sure their moorings were secure.
"We're not doing anything beyond that right now," Marshall said.
In Rockport, Harbormaster Rosemary Lesch said she and co-Harbormaster Scott Story were "strongly advising" people to take their boats out of the water if at all possible.
"The yacht club has drifted into overdrive and some small boats are leaving, which they should," Lesch said Wednesday. "It may cut some people's vacations short, and it may not."
The Cape Ann Emergency Planning Team advised residents and businesses on Cape Ann to be prepared for hurricanes.
In a prepared statement, the planning team encouraged residents to assemble an emergency supply kit, develop an emergency plan, and stay informed of changing weather conditions, advisories and instructions.
While a majority of computer models show the storm will track well east of the coast, there is a possibility the storm's track could still shift westward, which would bring more severe weather conditions to the region.
The designated emergency shelters on Cape Ann are the Fuller School off Blackburn Circle in Gloucester; Essex Elementary School on Story Street in Essex; Manchester Essex Regional High School on Lincoln Street in Manchester; and Rockport High School on Jerden's Lane in Rockport.
Earl was still more than 1,000 miles south-southeast of Nantucket Wednesday evening, with top sustained winds of 135 mph. It was on track to near the North Carolina shore late today or early Friday, then blow north along the coast, with forecasters cautioning that it was still too early to tell how close the storm may come to land.
Not since Hurricane Bob in 1991 has such a powerful storm had such a large swath of the East Coast in its sights, said Dennis Feltgen, spokesman for the National Hurricane Center.
"A slight shift of that track to the west is going to impact a great deal of real estate with potential hurricane-force winds," Feltgen said.
Some material from the Associated Press was used in this report.
Jonathan L'Ecuyer can be reached at 978-283-7000 x 3451 or jlecuyer@gloucestertimes.com.
