Earl drenches Nantucket as it passes by

NANTUCKET, Mass. -- As Earl skirts by Nantucket, crowds gathered along the shoreline to see what the storm would bring.

"I gotta tell you, if my dad were here right now, he'd say, ‘We're in for a blow, kids. We're in for a blow,'" said Annie Dyer, a resident.

By nightfall, that blow brought with it bands of heavy rain, drenching everything and everyone in its path.

"We're all Mother Nature. No question about it. We've been along the south coast here all afternoon just seeing it, and it's just amazing, more and more as we come closer it's getting to shore," said Frank Leto, visitor.

Beach erosion is a major problem in Nantucket, but Mother Nature has islanders in awe.

"I love it just because of the power and the splendor. I'm afraid of it because look what it can do. I have a great and healthy respect for it," said Dyer.

Earl was downgraded to a tropical storm late Friday night as it passed to the south of Nantucket.

(Copyright (c) 2010 Sunbeam Television Corp. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)