The National Hurricane Center has issued its latest report on Irene. Looks like the track has moved slightly to the west, which means it will have a greater impact on the East Coast. From Weather.com:
- There has been a slight shift in the forecast beyond Saturday.New York City is preparing for what could be an almost direct hit:
- It now appears Irene may hug the coastline potentially making a landfall not too far east of New York City Sunday evening.
- This new track means more people could have catastrophic impacts from Irene in the Northeast beginning Saturday night in southern Virginia and lasting into Monday in New England.
- Even though Irene should weaken some it will still bring hurricane force winds, extreme rainfall, significant coastal flooding and a tornado threat.
New York is getting ready to face Hurricane Irene, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Thursday.Here's the latest for DC, which has a tendency to get overly dramatic about weather events:
Speaking at a press conference outside St. Luke's Baptist Church in Queens, Bloomberg said the city was keeping a close eye on the storm's progression and making sure it could cope if heavy rains and up to 60-mph winds arrive this weekend.
"The city has already seen the power of Mother Nature this week," Bloomberg said, referring to the earthquake which shook the city Tuesday.
The city is "hoping for the best, preparing for the worst," he added.
Yesterday, the trend was that Hurricane Irene would remain off the Atlantic Seaboard and give us minimal impacts in the D.C. region.Here's how the track looks at 11 AM ET:
However, there are indications now that it may track a little farther west than it looked yesterday and, as a result, we could have stronger winds and heavier rain beginning Saturday afternoon and getting stronger Saturday night and into Sunday midday, according to News4 meteorologist Tom Kierein.
There is the potential for wind gusts to 60 mph or even higher, along with 4 to 6 inches of rain associated with this massive storm. In addition, around the Chesapeake Bay there could be tidal flooding, and areas east of the Bay to the Atlantic beaches will likely have hurricane-force winds of 70 mph or higher.
