Storm season is the best season for surfers, especially on Long Island’s east end.  Montauk is at the very tip of the finger that stretches east into the Atlantic and is a popular spot for experienced wave riders.

They’re the only ones in the water here.

The ocean is vicious and has been for days, churning and choppy with double header waves topping out at 10-12 feet.  Along shore the crests are pounding into a quickly eroding beach with a thunderous boom and huge sprays of white foam.  Thursday the skies were clear and beachgoers pulled up chairs and towels to watch the show along the coast, but fewer folks have ventured out on an increasingly cloudy Friday as Hurricane Earl travels up the coast.

Forecasters now predict eastern Suffolk County could be the only piece of New York to see Tropical Storm Force Winds and Montauk, known as “The End”, will get the worst of it, but nothing close to the worst case scenario that prompted officials to put 1600 out-of-state power workers on standby along with hundreds of Red Cross volunteers ready to staff 50 shelters with 50,000 cots and 50,000 blankets.

Evacuations are unlikely but sporadic power outtages are possible as Earl brushes by on his way North.  In his wake, sunny skies are predicted with temperatures in the mid to upper 70’s for the rest of Labor Day weekend.  Hotel owners seem confident savvy New Yorkers will still find their way out for one last weekend of summer.