Hurricane Irene could reach US as Category 3

Irene became the Atlantic basin’s first hurricane of the 2011 season, and it’s expected to strengthen and possibly make landfall on North Carolina by week’s end, reported AIR Worldwide.
On Monday, Aug. 22, Irene’s winds strengthened to 80 miles per hour, as it was exiting Puerto Rico’s northern coast, making it a Category 1 storm.
Irene is expected to strengthen further over the next few days, potentially reaching Category 3 status by Saturday, depending on how long it remains over the ocean, the AIR release says.
Given the atmospheric conditions, as well as where hurricanes have travelled from similar starting points, negotiating the Antilles, Irene may take a path similar to Hurricane Bertha in 1996, accuweather.com said in a release.
“People in the eastern part of the Carolinas, especially in the coastal areas and barrier islands should begin making preparations for a possible hurricane landfall that brings 100-mph winds or greater, storm surge flooding, torrential rainfall and possible tornadoes,” the release continues.
“There are other ramifications as the storm is not likely to stop in the Carolinas. It is very possible strong tropical storm or hurricane conditions will continue to spread up the Atlantic Seaboard,” accuweather.com continued.
“If the fast forward motion of the storm continues, it could spread damage, including that of downed trees, power lines and coastal flooding issues, into mid-Atlantic late this weekend and into southern and eastern New England by early next week.”