Tropical storm Earl churns toward New England waters

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A weakening Hurricane Earl swiped past North Carolina on Friday on its way to New England, where officials urged residents to stay vigilant even as the area threatened by storm's full force was shrinking.

The storm has sustained winds of 70 mph, a tropical storm. The storm was expected to pass about 50 miles southeast of Nantucket on Friday night.

Nantucket police Chief William Pittman warned residents against complacency, saying Earl's steady winds could be more severe than the gusty nor'easters the island was used to absorbing.

Stewart Smith, harbormaster in Chatham, on Cape Cod, said he was still watching Earl closely.

"These storms can wobble. It's tracking to the east, which is good news for us," he said. "But until it gets north of us, we should remain vigilant."

The National Hurricane Center reduced the New England areas under a hurricane warning to just Cape Cod and the islands late Friday morning. The rest of the New England coast remains under tropical storm warnings and watches.

The National Weather Service is forecasting winds of 45 to 65 mph on Nantucket with gusts up to 85 mph. On Cape Cod, winds of 35 to 45 mph with gusts of up to 60 mph are expected.

Massachusetts and Rhode Island have declared states of emergency.

"We're asking everyone: Don't panic," said Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick. "We have prepared well, we are coordinated well, and I'm confident that we've done everything that we can."

On Friday morning, residents seemed to be following Patrick's advice. Traffic was light on both bridges to and from Cape Cod, where the air was still and heavy rains started in the late morning.

Ellen McDonough of Boston and a friend were waiting in Barnstable on Friday for what was expected to be one of the last ferries to Nantucket before service was stopped. The two had planned a Labor Day weekend getaway to the island and didn't see Earl as a good reason to cancel.

"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."

Scott Thomas, general manager of the Nantucket Inn, the largest hotel on the island, said about 20 guests canceled their reservations for Friday night, but the rooms were refilled by utility workers, Red Cross workers and reporters.

Thomas, who is president of the Nantucket Island Chamber of Commerce, said island residents were taking the coming storm in stride.

"This is not something that is really unheard of for us, in terms of being prepped for it and being ready to handle something like this," he said. "We kind of roll with the punches out here; it's not a huge deal for us."

Thomas Kinton Jr., executive director of the Massachusetts Port Authority, which runs Logan International Airport in Boston, said he didn't expect major commercial airlines to cancel flights because of Earl. Cape Air, which serves Cape Cod, will be ending its flights at midday Friday, he said.

"The potential impacts to (Logan) airport are lessening as the hurricane gets closer," Kinton said.

Rhode Island Gov. Donald Carcieri signed a declaration of disaster emergency Thursday, giving emergency workers access to state and federal resources to deal with problems that may be caused by the hurricane. Block Island, a popular Rhode Island tourist destination, was expected to see hurricane-force gusts.

In Connecticut, Gov. M. Jodi Rell pressed President Barack Obama to declare a state of emergency for her state.

"I have determined that this event is of such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capabilities of the state and affected local governments as well as voluntary organizations," Rell said in a letter to Obama.

In New Hampshire, the storm appeared to be headed east of the state, but officials were encouraging homeowners who live near the coast to have extra batteries and water. Officials in Rye said they would close all the town's beaches because of possible dangerous ocean currents.

Hundreds were leaving their island summer homes in Maine on Thursday before the traditional end of the season on Labor Day because of the threat of a weekend washout, said Philip Conkling, president of the Island Institute.

At Acadia National Park, which is under a tropical storm warning, officials closed most of a road where thousands of visitors gathered last year to watch the swells from Hurricane Bill, and a 20-foot wave swept a 7-year-old girl to her death.

Listen to WBZ's Doug Cope's report from Chatham, which is bracing for Earl: