Hurricane watch issued for North Carolina; East Coast prepares for Irene

A hurricane watch was issued early today for much of the North Carolina coast as officials from that state’s vulnerable Outer Banks to New England scrambled to inspect bridges, sent naval ships away, dusted off evacuation plans and prepared sandbags in advance of Hurricane Irene. The hurricane could hit the Outer Banks on Saturday afternoon with winds around 115 mph, then hug the East Coast before being downgraded to a tropical storm Monday morning over northern New Hampshire or southern Quebec. At 10 a.m., Irene was lashing the Bahamas, with widespread damage on at least two southern islands. The hurricane was located about 75 miles north-northeast of Nassau, Bahamas, and about 645 miles south of Cape Hatteras, N.C. Maximum sustained winds were 115 mph—making Irene a Category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson intensity scale—and the storm was moving north-northwest at 13 mph. A hurricane warning was in effect for the central and northwestern Bahamas; a hurricane watch was in effect from north of Surf City, N.C., to the North Carolina-Virginia state line; and a tropical storm watch was in effect from north of Edisto Beach, S.C., to Surf City, N.C. A hurricane watch means hurricane conditions are possible within 48 hours. For more information on Irene, click here for the National Hurricane Center website.