Though Hurricane Earl weakened to a tropical storm on Friday night, hitting Wareham and surrounding areas with little more than rain and mild winds, the town rallied to prepare for the storm throughout the week and was ready to face Earl head-on.

With hurricane season still in full swing and meteorologists calling for an unusually active Atlantic season, town officials said they were grateful for the preparedness drill.

"It was a great exercise," said Town Administrator Mark Andrews. "Great planning cannot be purchased."

Board of Selectmen Chair Jane Donahue echoed that sentiment.

"I'm glad that we had a chance to have a dry run," Donahue said, adding that the "seasoned players worked well with the rookies."

Town officials, departments, and employees, as well as both the Wareham and Onset fire districts, worked together in planning for the storm. Meetings were held throughout the week at the Onset Fire Department, where the team heard storm updates and preparedness tips during conference calls with the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA).

"Everybody had something to contribute and everybody had a voice," Andrews said of the team.

The town's emergency plan was activated Thursday afternoon, and reverse 911 calls began alerting residents of the hurricane warning. Notices on the town's website, www.wareham.ma.us, helped keep citizens up-to-date on the latest forecasts and gave instructions to prepare.

Key town departments, such as the Police and Municipal Maintenance, upped their normal staffing on Friday and staggered the times at which employees arrived, to ensure workers were fresh and ready to go once the storm hit, Andrews said.

Beginning at 12 p.m. Friday, Town Hall's regular telephone number became a "hurricane hotline," Andrews reported. Volunteers answered residents' storm questions until 1 a.m. Saturday morning. Andrews said he hoped it took stress off the phones at the Police and fire departments.

Town Hall also was turned into an emergency shelter during the storm. Many local restaurants and businesses donated food and necessities like paper products so employees, and shelter-attendees, could eat.

In another effort to get information out, Andrews rode in a Police SUV with Wareham Community Television (WCTV) during the storm, alerting residents about conditions and any potential hazards. The town's Systems Manager, Matt Underhill, along with WCTV Technical Director Steve Ruiz, spent four hours outfitting the SUV with broadcasting equipment on Friday. Andrews' updates were aired live on all WCTV stations until about 12:45 a.m.

Andrews said he wanted residents to be able to see what was happening in Wareham because television news outlets were concentrated in areas like Nantucket and Chatham, where the storm was stronger.

The preparation for the storm "was a great practice run," said Selectman Cara Winslow. "We know that we can do it and keep people safe."

The town is eligible for reimbursement for employee overtime, supplies, and other expenses incurred during Hurricane Earl, through MEMA and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

"It should be zero impact on our budget," Andrews said.

Donahue said that Andrews will hold a meeting with town employees and emergency officials this week to discuss "lessons learned" from preparing for Earl as well as any changes for the next time the town needs to put the emergency plan into action.

"It's always a continuous improvement process," Donahue said.