ANOTHER POWER TO BE RECKONED WITH

A sign in Sea Bright warns visitors that a hurricane may threaten beachgoers later this week. (Click to enlarge)

By DUSTIN RACIOPPI

This week’s forecast: hot and sunny with a chance of Earl. A very good chance of Earl, actually.

Be warned, beachgoers: the entire East Coast is on alert for Hurricane Earl, which is expected to hit our area — at least in tropical form — later this week.

The same rip current advisory that was in effect for Hurricane Danielle last weekend is in place for the storm’s successor this Labor Day weekend.

Danielle may have only been a harbinger of what’s to come for the last big weekend at the beach. Earl is expected to bring tropical storm-like winds to the greater New York City region — that definitely means us — according to the Wall Street Journal.

From WSJ:

Hurricane Earl will come “a lot closer to the coast than Danielle” and will almost certainly bring “high tides, rough surf and significant rip currents” along Long Island and the Jersey Shore, said Dennis Feltgen, a National Hurricane Center spokesman. “Anybody living on the East Coast of the United States should really be paying attention to this storm,” he said.

Sea Bright is, and has been the last week, on alert for rough weather. A sign on the borough’s main drag, Ocean Avenue, alerts visitors to be mindful of a potential rip current and reminds people to keep close to a lifeguard.

The Journal and numerous weather reports make Earl out to be a force to be reckoned with. Just be careful out there, folks.

Meantime, here’s the forecast from the National Weather Service, which sees sunny days ahead, despite potentially dangerous waters:

Today: Sunny, with a high near 93. North wind between 3 and 6 mph.

Tonight: Clear, with a low around 69. West wind between 3 and 6 mph.

Labor Day: Sunny, with a high near 77.