Hurricane Irene ... Thursday Morning Update

Hurricane Irene ... Thursday Morning Update

The morning weather data is in on Hurricane Irene and as far as we’re concerned the news is still not good. Irene is a strong and powerful Category 3 storm with peak sustained winds of 115 mph. Even though the intensity may fluctuate some it still has the potential to grow larger and stronger as time goes by and couldl reach at least Category 4 status in the next day or so. It continues to plow along toward the northwest at 12 mph and at present is raking the Bahamas from a position about 80 miles east-southeast of Nassau. Track the storm real-time on StormPulse - the most interactive weather tool.

The track of Irene has been very well forecast by many of the computer models during the past few days. With that track record in mind there is reason to believe that the models will be fairly accurate as Irene moves northward over the next few days. While it is still impossible to pinpoint exactly where it will make landfall, most all of the indications are that it will pass very close to if not over the Outer Banks of North Carolina on Saturday as a Category 3 or 4 storm. The track then remains offshore with a projected landfall somewhere between New York City and Cape Cod Sunday afternoon and evening. Any attempt at this time to be more detailed than that is just not possible. In fact, with Irene still about 1200 miles from Providence there is still an outside chance it could pass more than 100 miles east or west of us. This is still not rocket science.

If Irene hits us on Sunday as a Category 1 or 2 storm there should be widespread damage and power outages with lots of trees down and severe coastal flooding, especially if it hits at high tide. So, what to do? Well, certainly at this time you should take stock of what you will need in the event of power outages. Evaluate what in your yard or property needs to be tied down or taken inside. Boat owners should at least make plans to protect their vessels. It’s not time to pull the trigger just yet, but that time is drawing closer and certainly decisions will have to be made in the next day or two if the forecast does not change appreciably.

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From my perspective, after nearly 50 years of forecasting weather in Southern New England, I can count on one hand the number of storms that I have been extremely concerned about … and Irene is one of them. Irene may not make the list in a day or two but right now it has my complete attention. More updates ahead … and be sure to follow Irene on our super Stormpulse Hurricane Tracker … https://www.golocalprov.com/index.php/weather/.