American Red Cross Disaster Newsroom

As of 5:00 a.m. EDT, Hurricane Irene was located about 370 miles southeast of Nassau, Bahamas, moving to the west-northwest at 9 mph. A gradual turn to the Northwest is expected later today. On the forecast track, the core of Irene will move across the Southeastern and Central Bahamas today and over the Northwestern Bahamas on Thursday. Maximum sustained winds remain near 110 mph with higher gusts. Hurricane force winds extend outward 40 miles from the center and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 205 miles. Irene is now a Category 2 Hurricane, and Irene will likely become a major hurricane later today. Irene is expected to produce rainfall accumulations of 6 to 12 inches across the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands. These rains could cause life-threatening flash floods and mudslides in areas of steep terrain. Storm surge in areas of onshore flow near the center of Irene; a dangerous storm surge will raise water levels by as much as 7 to 11 feet above normal tide levels over the central and Northwestern Bahamas and as much as 5 to 8 feet above normal tide levels over the Southeastern Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands. Near the coast, the surge will be accompanied by large and dangerous waves.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 24th, 2011 at 10:27 AM and is filed under Hurricane Irene. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.