Hurricane Irene made first landfall around 1130 UTC, Saturday, August 27, coming onshore west of Cape Lookout, North Carolina, 50 miles west of Cape Hatteras and 120 miles south of Norfolk, Virginia. Maximum sustained winds were 85 mph, equivalent to a Category 1 status, hitting the shore weaker than previously forecast. Irene moved north across North Carolina, deviating slightly east as it passed over the Delaware and Maryland coast.
Irene made a second landfall near Little Egg Inlet on the New Jersey coast, 10 miles east-southeast of Atlantic City, New Jersey, and 100 miles south-southwest of New York City, at 1040 UTC, Sunday August 28. Maximum sustained winds were 75mph, equivalent to low category 1 status, indicating that Irene had continued its slow weakening trend, and was a bit weaker at landfall than had been forecast. Irene continued to move north-northeast as it passed over New York City, New York and western Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire.
Irene became a post tropical storm as it passed over the U.S. and Canadian border, and as of 0900 UTC, Monday August 29, Irene was located about 50 miles north of Berlin, New Hampshire and 150 miles south of Quebec City, Quebec moving north-northwest at 28 mph. Irene has maximum sustained winds of 50 mph with gale force winds extending 365 miles from the center with higher gusts possible along the coast, south and east of the storm. Tropical storm warnings along the New Brunswick storm are set to expire this morning. Post-tropical storm Irene is expected to continue to track northeast over Canada today, passing over Newfoundland and moving into the Labrador Sea by Tuesday morning, local time.
Hurricane Irene’s damage is likely to be characterized more by the amount of inland flooding, storm surge, and treefall than by direct wind damage and flooding is still an ongoing concern for many states in the northeast. Irene’s most damaging winds spared areas of coastal Virginia, Maryland, and New Jersey, but her large windfield spread tropical storm force winds as far inland as Washington, Baltimore, Richmond, and into Central Pennsylvania.
The most common impact from winds was treefall, with thousands of uprooted and downed trees from North Carolina, up the Mid-Atlantic, and throughout the Northeast. Additionally, there have been several reports of strewn debris, siding and roofing materials blown off houses, and damage to automobiles. Among the hardest hit areas were Chesapeake Bay and the Outer Banks of North Carolina where Irene initially made landfall.
Source : RMS Press Release
