N.J. and Del. prepare for worst of Hurricane Earl - despite a pleasant forecast

Mammoth Hurricane Earl is unlikely to end New Jersey's streak of 107 years without a hurricane's making landfall. But Shore emergency officials said they weren't quite ready to exhale.

Earl was forecast to pass close enough Friday to generate rain, high winds, angry waves, perhaps minor tidal flooding, and a good scare along the Delaware and South Jersey coasts.

A westward jog in Earl's path would mean more punishing conditions regardless of whether the storm came ashore. Two 20th century hurricanes that never reached New Jersey's coastline were far more damaging than the one that did, in 1903.

On Thursday, beach towns conducted preparedness drills, securing lifeguard equipment, rescue boats, and trash cans. Sea Isle City, in Cape May County, had a 2.5-ton military cargo truck at the ready.

"We want to make sure everything is in place," said Michael Dattilo, acting business administrator for nearby Ocean City.

The Cape May-Lewes Ferry halted most departures for Friday and said cancellations could lap into Saturday.

The dire precautions belied the fact that the weather forecast for the rest of Labor Day weekend is shockingly splendid, with a cool air mass so refreshing, it could restore a curmudgeon's sense of well-being.

But Earl remained a frightening wild card for Friday.

After passing dangerously close to North Carolina's Outer Banks early in the morning, Earl was forecast to zip toward Nova Scotia. Storm warnings and watches in effect Friday were posted from Hatteras to Halifax.

Mandatory evacuations were ordered for the Outer Banks. Nantucket, Mass., planned to set up a shelter at a high school. And Earl was expected to remain a hurricane all the way to Canada.

The storm was projected to pass within 150 miles of the Jersey Shore on Friday afternoon, a subtle westward adjustment from the Wednesday forecast.

That should spare the state from hurricane-force winds - 74 m.p.h. or better - but Earl's wingspan is enormous. Tropical-storm-force winds, at least 39 m.p.h., radiated 230 miles from the center Thursday.

A tropical-storm warning was in effect for the entire New Jersey coast, with a hurricane watch for Delaware beaches.

"We're telling everybody to secure any and all objects that can become windblown and turn into missiles," said Allyn Seel, deputy director of the Atlantic County Office of Emergency Management. "We're also looking at possibly some loss of power."