Newport Gears Up for Earl, as Weakened Storm Nears Our Area

The forecast for Hurricane Earl has improved overnight.

As of 6 a.m., the forecast had weakened for Rhode Island, although a tropical storm warning was still issued for our area. Tropical storm force wind gusts of 40 to 50 miles per hour are expected from Friday night into the predawn hours. Storm surge of up to two feet is possible along the Rhode Island coast, and high surfs and rip current are supposed to worsen today as the storm approaches. One to 2.5 inches of rain are possible.

Still, the city of Newport is asking residents to "stay inside and off the streets" as the storm passes our area later this evening.

In a release issued this morning, the city's EMA team advised "only to venture out after the storm when conditions are safe."

On Thursday evening, Newport's streets and sidewalks were pretty desolate as residents hunkered down and tourists left town in anticipation of Hurricane Earl's arrival.

"It was definitely a ghost town today," said Kristin May of Pink Pineapple, a clothing store on Thames Street.

Like May, other store employees and hotel staffs reported slow business on Thursday. Newport Apparel acknowledged being pretty quiet. Helly Hansen staffers painted "Bring It on Earl. We've Got You Covered." on the store's windows. Its neighbor The Music Box posted "Hurricane Sale" signs, offering 15 percent off all store merchandise. Still, employees noted business was pretty dead most of the afternoon. Music Box owners decided to close on Friday altogether.

Over at Sightsailing of Newport, owner John Hirschler made the call to shut down Thursday afternoon.

"We probably could have stayed open later, but we didn't want to be out here at 11 p.m.," he said.

Hirschler and staffer Josh Sisson could be found tightening down their booth's tent around 6 p.m. Thursday. Crew had already moved some of their boats out to the moorings or to docks, but Schooner Aquidneck was staying close by.

"I think we're lucky it's happening on Friday," Hirschler said. "It'd be perfect if it were happening on the Tuesday after Labor Day, but Saturday in the aftermath of a tropical storm, the atmosphere is clear. It's like it cleanses it. I think the weekend will be spectacular, and I bet there will be a lot of people pent-up wanting to go sailing."

Newport Shipyard crew were busy hauling in boats all day Thursday. Preparations were also taking place over at Sail Newport.

Newport hotels had a "wait-and-see" attitude Thursday afternoon.

Hotel Viking Reservations Manager Mike Botha said the hotel had some cancellations on Thursday, and that bookings have been slow so far for Saturday and Sunday. Botha said hotel staff have reviewed emergency plans and were prepping with additional staffing and additional food, "just in case of the worst."

"At a category 1 hurricane everybody down on the water has to evacuate, so we're working it out with some of the people in hotels down there; we've contacted them if they need to move rooms, stuff like that," Botha said. "We have finite rooms available, but if they get hit, we want to make sure they're taken care of."

Employes at the Wyndham Long Wharf reported business as usual for now, as did the Pelham Court Hotel, where all but one of the day's three check-ins had arrived so far.

At the Admiral Fitzroy Inn on Thames Street, things hadn't been good or bad just yet.

"I haven't gotten a lot of new reservations in the last day or two, but I also haven't gotten any cancellations," noted employee John Flood. "I was surprised. We have half the house coming in tomorrow and half on Saturday.  Hopefully we don't have to worry about anything."

For the few tourists still out on the sidewalks of Thames Street Thursday evening, Hurricane Earl was causing concern, but not causing them to change their plans just yet.

"That's why we're stocking up on fudge and all the other essentials right now," Virgina Plath-Kelly, of Westchester County, NY, said with a smile.

Plath-Kelly said she and her family plan to head home Saturday, and that they're thankful the worst of the storm won't be hitting as they try to get out.

Her husband and his daughter, Kelly, still hope to tour the mansions on Friday and make a stop at the Irish Waterfront Festival on Saturday. Due to the impact of Hurricane Earl, the Newport Yachting Center announced Thursday that it will be delaying the opening of the Irish Festival until 2 p.m. The festival will be extended an hour on Saturday to accomodate entertainment. 

Plath-Kelly said she'd be watching things carefully over the next day.

"How much am I worried about the storm?" she asked her husband.

"She's been nagging me every day," he said with a laugh.

Newport officials are still watching Earl closely. The city's website will be updated Friday morning with the essential numbers of who to call with storm-related emergencies.

State beaches, including Fort Adams State Beach, will be closed on Friday. Kirwin said there's a chance local beaches may be shut down around 2 p.m.

The city is strongly encouraging residents to ready themselves for the storm, if you haven't already, and to keep watching media outlets closely for updates. To get a full check-list of what you should do hours before a storm, go here.

Gov. Donald Carcieri signed a declaration of disaster emergency for the state on Thursday. The declaration of disaster in advance of Hurricane Earl landfall is a formal step that allows the state to stand up necessary state and federal resources for a potential disaster. The State's declaration is also a required step in order to receive a federal declaration of emergency.

National Grid says it's expecting some customers will be without power at some point during the storm. To report an outage, go here or call 1-800-465-1212.

Many schools across the state of Rhode Island canceled classes or issued early dismissals for today, but so far no such message has been issued by Newport Public Schools. Superintendent John Ambrogi told Patch on Thursday that he was going to wait and see what was necessary on Friday. So far, the only dismissals for Newport include The MET East Bay and East Bay Community Action-Head Start, both at 12:30 p.m.

Watch here for more updates as they become available.