Nassau Escapes Earl's Wrath

A weakened Hurricane Earl made its way towards Long Island Friday afternoon, with forecasters expecting it not to make landfall, but with officials preparing for the worst just in case.

Earl has been downgraded to a Category 1 storm with winds topping out at 85 mph. A tropical storm warning remained in effect for areas east of the Fire Island Inlet on the south shore and Port Jefferson Harbor on the north shore. 

One day after closing  the ocean side of Tobay Beach to swimmers and surfers the Town of Oyster Bay closed off access to sand areas of the beach as well. But as of early Friday afternoon, the Bay side of Tobay remained open.

A town spokeswoman said officials were in touch with the Nassau County Office of Emergency Management about the storm and urged residents to check the town's website for any updates.

Massapequa Fire Chief Peter Anglim said that his department has also been in contact with OEM as well as the National Weather Service.

"Our trucks are ready, our manpower has been alerted," he said. "If we do have a change in the weather, we'll bring our members in."

Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano announced all Nassau County beaches  would be closed due to strong rip currents.

The Marine Forecast calls for "the worst case scenario for swimmers to enter the water," Mangano said.

"There is no reason to take a chance and venture into the surf today. "No matter the lure of the ocean, the decision to swim could result in dire consequences. Please take the advice of the experts and stay out of the ocean."

In addition to Tobay, the following beaches are closed to swimmers:

• Village of Atlantic Beach
• Long Beach
• Nickerson Beach

Town of Hempstead Beaches:

• Point Lookout
• Lido
• Lido West
• Mailbu
• East Atlantic Beach
• Jones Beach

The Long Island Power Authority said has established staging areas for restoration efforts, and will supplement their own crews with additional repair crews from outside the LIPA service territory. To date, LIPA and National Grid have over 2,200 workers ready to assist in restoration efforts.

In Suffolk County, where the storm was expected to hit hardest,  officials did not order an evacuation and said there were no plans to do so. But on the very eastern end of Long Island, the Red Cross opened a voluntary pre-storm shelter at the Montauk Playhouse Community Center.

Long Island MacArthur Airport will remain open Friday and runways will be available for general aviation aircraft, as well as commercial carriers. Southwest Airlines has canceled all flights after 5 p.m. and US Airways has indicated a plan to continue operations as long as weather conditions permit. The airport is advising travelers to check with their carrier.

There was also one last minute cancelation. The Massapequa Chamber of Commerce pulled the plug  on their Community Festival  Friday at the Massapequa LIRR station. They were hoping to resume the fair at 1 p.m. Saturday.