cnn.com
Tropical storm-force winds and heavy swells from Hurricane Irene loomed just over the horizon Friday morning for residents of North Carolina's south-facing coastal communities.
Irene was still 375 miles to the southwest of North Carolina at 8 a.m. ET on Friday but tropical storm-force winds were already within 100 miles of the North Carolina coast, National Hurricane Center Director Bill Read said.
The winds and heavy waves should arrive by late morning or early afternoon, he said.
"The timing is such that tonight into Saturday will be the worst for North Carolina and the Virginia Tidewater, Saturday into Sunday for the Delmarva (peninsula) and the eastern part of New Jersey, and then all day Sunday for New England," Read said.
With maximum winds of 110 mph, Irene still fell short Friday morning of major hurricane status and in its 8 a.m. forecast, the National Hurricane Center said the storm is unlikely to strengthen significantly. Forecasters did warn that some intensification is still possible, however.The storm is still expected to bring a storm surge of up to 11 feet to coastal North Carolina, tearing away beaches and likely damaging homes, businesses and other structures in the state before sliding up the East Coast of the United States all the way to New England, Read said.
The U.S. Navy prepared by sending 38 ships to sea, a U.S. Navy official told CNN. In Hampton, Virginia, officials ordered a mandatory evacuation on Friday.
In Hyde County, North Carolina, where officials had already ordered a mandatory evacuation, a caravan of school buses left Friday morning carrying evacuees to shelters as far away as Raleigh, 140 miles away. Many of those evacuating were Hispanic employees of Charles Carawan's seafood packaging business.
But Carawan and his family weren't among those planning to leave.
The 66-year-old owner of Mattamuskeet Seafood, his wife and son plan to ride out the storm along with about $500,000 worth of frozen crab they hope to keep frozen with a rented generator.
"I have nowhere else to go," Carawan said.
Up the coast, where a Sunday landfall in the New England area is likely, preparations were already well under way.
Tens of millions of people could be affected by the storm as it moves up the densely populated East Coast. In New York, emergency officials published evacuation maps for the city.
Frederico Martins of Williston, New York, found the bottled water and flashlight aisles at his local store cleaned out.
"People here are taking it very seriously. Better to be safe than sorry," Martins said, adding that it was "kind of cool" to see people getting ready for the storm.It was a similar story in Plainfield, New Jersey, where generators were going fast.
"Ran into my neighbor, he was trying to buy a generator for his sister. He went to Lowe's and Home Depot, and couldn't find one," said Mario Depeine. "He got some 'insider information' about when an expected shipment of generators will arrive. He has to be there to get one, they're going fast."
Officials in cities along much of the East Coast ordered evacuations.
Amtrak and major U.S. airlines began canceling routes and flights or putting them on a watch list. American Airlines canceled 126 flights Thursday, mostly out of Miami and the Bahamas, an airline spokesman said.
Airlines are expected to cancel more flights Friday.
Sunday's dedication of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial in Washington was postponed until at least next month, officials announced Thursday night.
Pro sports teams juggled their schedules while colleges from Virginia to New Hampshire closed their campuses or delayed dormitory move-ins.
"Everybody should take this very seriously," said North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue, who declared a state of emergency in counties east of Interstate 95. "Everyone is telling us this is a big deal for North Carolina."
Hurricane watches and warnings are in place from North Carolina to Massachusetts, the Hurricane Center said.
A hurricane warning is issued 36 hours in advance of tropical storm-force winds. A hurricane has sustained winds of 74 mph or higher.
"Significant" storm surge flooding was possible within watch areas. Hurricane watches, issued 48 hours in advance of tropical storm-force winds, indicate hurricane conditions are possible.
cnn.com
A tropical storm warning, which indicates sustained winds of 39 to 73 mph are possible in the next 36 hours, was in effect for the portions of coastal South Carolina.
Governors of Delaware, Connecticut, New York, Virginia, New Jersey and Maryland declared states of emergency as Irene threatened to wreak havoc along the East Coast. Emergency declarations allow states to free funds and prepare resources that may be needed.
The last major hurricane to strike the United States was Wilma in 2005, which was a Category 3 at landfall in southwest Florida.
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