Earl fizzles

After a short frenzy to rush for bread and milk, Rhode Island residents only experienced some heavy rain and minimal flooding from the once-feared Hurricane Earl. Earl dropped quickly from a Category 4 to a tropical storm as it grazed the coast Friday evening, causing more inconvenience than anything.

Despite Earl's decrease in power, Rhode Island College devised a plan to deal with the possible destruction. On Sept. 2, two days before the hurricane was forecast to hit the state, President Nancy Carriuolo e-mailed the RIC student body. She requested that students and campus staff unplug computers during the storm, as well as to lock up windows to keep dry from the wind-swept rain. Benches around campus were bolted down securely, and generators were checked to assure their power was ready for a blackout.

Classes would only have been cancelled if Governor Donald Carcieri announced a state of emergency. On Friday, Jane Fusco, director of News and Public Relations, alerted students in an e-mail via the Office of Student Life on the status of Hurricane Earl and its impact on RIC.

All classes were held as scheduled, and extracurricular activities and events were still planned, since Earl had petered out into a relatively small rain storm for most of Rhode Island. Although authorities still cautioned those near the coast to be careful, inland towns and cities only saw an inch or so of rain, followed by a sunny Saturday.

After causing some flooding in North Carolina, Earl passed through New England and moved up toward Nova Scotia, Canada. While there was heavy rainfall in Massachusetts, including Cape Cod and the islands of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, little damage was recorded. By the time Earl hit New England, it was no longer a hurricane, but a tropical storm with maximum-sustained winds of less than 70 miles per hour – the center of which staggered well offshore.

According to most major weather forecasts, Hurricane Earl's threat to Rhode Island turned out to be exaggerated. The rush to prepare for the storm ended up being unnecessary, but state officials said it was a good precaution .