Hurricane warnings remained in place for the Vineyard, Woods Hole and Nantucket at noon Friday as a weakening hurricane Earl continued to plow toward southeastern New England. The National Hurricane Service downgraded the storm to category one with maximum sustained winds of 85 miles per hour and a quickening forward pace of 21 miles per hour. The hurricane remains on track to approach the two Islands later tonight, and while continued weakening is expected, “Earl is expected to remain a large hurricane as it approaches southeastern New England,” the hurricane center said. At noon Friday the storm was located north of the outer banks of North Carolina where it knocked out power and delivered high winds and heavy rains earlier in the day.

Storm shelters opened at noon in Edgartown, Oak Bluffs and Vineyard Haven Friday. Correcting an earlier report in the Gazette, there will be no shelter in West Tisbury; residents in that town seeking shelter are advised to go to another town.

The Martha’s Vineyard Hospital announced that outpatient services would end at 2 p.m..

The Steamship Authority announced in a travel advisory that ferries between the Vineyard and Woods Hole were still running and would continue to run as long as safely possible. Freight boats have been taken out of service and tied up due to the oncoming storm.

Meanwhile, the Island continued to batten down as the weather turned heavy and humid with intermittent tropical downpours. Homes and business with coastal exposure were boarded up, including the Flying Horses Carousel in the center of Oak Bluffs, which was boarded up with a sign on the door saying that the carousel was closing “Earl-ly.”

The Gazette will continue to post updates on its Web site on hurricane Earl.