Irene update

10:10 AM: Here is an image I looked at so much while on vacation this past May on Hatteras Island. It is the local radar from Buxton, showing the outer edges of Irene just south of Cape Hatteras.

All the collective energy in the world does not seem to be wishing Irene away from the Outer Banks. I pray for my future retirement destination and for all the permanent residents of the fragile barrier islands off the North Carolina coast.

Here is what you need to know about our weather this weekend. Hurricane Irene this morning is a category 2 storm with 110mph winds located about 350 miles south southwest of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. The storm is moving northward at 14 mph and should reach the Outer Banks by Saturday afternoon. A hurricane warning is in effect from the North Carolina/South Carolina border northward to Sandy Hook, New Jersey. North of Sandy Hook a watch is posted up to Merrimack River, Mass on the New Hampshire border. This watch includes Long Island and Metro New York City. Evacuations are well underway in coastal areas from the Carolinas to the Jersey Shore.

Irene is forecast to move up the coast and come onshore very close to New York City on Sunday. At this time the storm is then forecast to cross interior New England and move into southern Quebec and the Gaspe region. Locally no watches are in effect at this time. Today and Saturday will be partly cloudy with increasing northeast winds late Saturday. Sunday looks very windy in Montreal, gusts over 50km/h quite likely. Rain will develop in the afternoon and become very heavy east of the city. Amounts will range from 25mm over western regions to as much as 200mm well south and east of the city and into the Townships and Vermont. Flooding is likely in Vermont and eastern Quebec with a watch of some sort expected later today or early Saturday.

I will have much more as the day and weekend progresses, either by blogging or via twitter. Please stay safe this weekend.