Beach Patrol Chief Ray Tartal says the water will be closed all day Friday. Lifeguards were patrolling the beach on foot after their stands were moved from the beach as a precaution.
Tartal says people are being allowed on the beach, but that could change later in the day depending on the waves. He said a decision would be made Saturday on whether people could go into the water then.
Forecasters at the National Weather Service said some showers associated with the storm were expected through at least midday.
Saturday was expected to be sunny and breezy.
Meanwhile, people who have surf fishing permits that allow them to drive on to the beaches at Delaware state parks are being told they can't because of Hurricane Earl.
Doug Long, the park superintendent at Delaware Seashore State Park, said Friday that officials decided late Thursday that vehicles shouldn't be allowed to drive on to the sand. Long says Earl has brought in a tidal surge and there's "not a whole lot of flat beach to drive on." The beach at Cape Henlopen State Park in Lewes was also closed to surf fishers.
Long says that on a typical holiday weekend he might expect 300 vehicles with people surf fishing on the beach.
Delaware Emergency Management Agency spokeswoman Rosanne Pack says officials have not had any reports of damage or flooding as of Friday afternoon.
