. glad are you with us. >> north carolina's governor said it best. or she said it best. >> the outer bands of the storm are hitting our coast. >> well, right now the category two hurricane is hugging the coast of north carolina and getting very close and packing winds of up to 100 miles per hour. states of emergency are definitely in affect from north carolina all the way up to maine. >> hurricane irene is currently at a category two strength. but how different is that from a category three? and where is irene heading now? our meteorologist is live in the fox extreme weather center. what are we talking about category two? category three? >> and we have a brand-new update coming out at 3:00 a.m. we are now talking a category one. that is good news. we want it to weaken and hopefully push out to sea, but that's no what -- that's not what the models are pointing to. right now sustained winds are 90 miles an hour. swree hurricane warnings in affect stretching from wilmington, north carolina all the way up to portions of new england. martha's vineyard is under a hurricane warning. new yor

safer areas as the national weather service issues a hurricane warning stretching from north carolina all the way to nantucket. irene is expected to make landfall between 8:00 and 10:00 eastern today in north carolina's outer banks. it could weak on the a tropical storm by the time it reaches new england, experts say irene could be destructive. president obama returned to the white house last night. but not before issuing a warning to residents in irene's path. >> i cannot stress this highly enough. if you are in the projected path of this hurricane, you have to take precautions now. don't wait. don't delay. we all hope for the best, but we have to be prepared for the worst. all of us have to take this storm seriously. you need to listen to your state and local officials. and if you are given an evacuation order please follow it. >> the president signed an emergency declaration authorizing fema to provide all necessary resources to assist in storm relief. the declaration will provide federal funds to areas that have been designated as states of emergency. that i know clouds new york. the

recovery and the damage and devastation we're concerned will happen to north carolina. >> that was north carolina governor bev perdue speaking about her concerns regarding hurricane irene. i'm back with continuing coverage of hurricane irene on msnbc. the national hurricane center reports that sustained winds for the storm have decreased. but irene will remain a hurricane as she travels up the mid-atlantic coast even as the storm is expected to lose more strength as it hits land. strong winds are extending 100 miles from irene's center. at least 60 million people are in irene's path including 3.5 million residents along the north carolina coast where the storm is expected to make landfall later this morning. let's bring in jeff who's been tracking the storm. what's going on with it right now? >> we're seeing it getting close to landfall along the outer banks of north carolina. for those of you in the north carolina area hopefully you have evacuated because those outer banks are getting lashed right now. the winds are at 100 miles per hour in the center of the storm. you can see it windin

decades. from north carolina into new england, bracing for irene. right now, irene is battering north carolina after making landfall a few hours ago near cape lookout. the winds, rain and surf were brutal as irene slammed ashore. and right now, more than 200,000 people in north carolina are without power. two storm-related deaths are reported. one in north carolina, another in virginia. the nation's biggest cities, including new york and boston, are bracing for the worst. >> if you are in an area where your governor or mayor has said there's a mandatory evacuation order, please abide by that order. and even if you're not in an evacuation zone, please know this is a big storm. it covers a lot of territory. be prepared. have some food, flashlight batteries, extra water, the sorts of things that will help you get through in case particularly power is out for some period of time. >> we've got reporters and live crews up and down the u.s. east coast to bring you the very latest on hurricane irene. reynolds wolf, john zarrella, brian todd are in the bull's-eye right now along the nort

get slightly weaker as we run the storm over north carolina and then on up into the northeast. and that's good news. i still think because of the size of this storm that that flooding potential in downtown new york, in manhattan, in parts of hoboken and even toward rockaway beach and long beach in new york still there as those waves will be pushing, those winds will be pushing water up against that shore for a very long time. here's what's happened to the storm and what happened earlier today and also during the day yesterday is the turn happened. and during that turn, there was enough wind shear that was pushing the storm from a different direction that the storm didn't like it very much and the storm really disintegrated for awhile. it was very low pressure. it was extremely low pressure. in fact, right now the pressure is low enough to make a category 3 hurricane. it's just not organized enough to get those category 3 winds. we could wake up tomorrow morning -- one of the things the hurricane center will tell you is that the forecast for hurricane wind speed is harder, much hard

see to it we are prepared. >> we do have our reporters out this morning. several in north carolina, like i mentioned, that has been getting battered by this storm. that is where it has officially made landfall. we also have reporters in d.c. and new york where the storm will be heading. let me start in north carolina, kill devil hills, north carolina, where reynolds wolf is now. reynolds, it's official, it's made landfall. what are you noticing there? and we see your picture there reynolds. it seems like it continues to kick up every time we come talk to you. >> reporter: well, t.j., i've got to tell you that i've been lucky enough to cover tropical weather at cnn for about six years now, covered about 17 on the beach. i've been lucky enough to cover them in the pacific ocean, in hawaii, been in the gulf of mexico and now obviously on the atlantic. and each and every one of those storms is a little bit different, but there is one common thread. they each have one key moment in whatever location we happen to be in. that key location, that key moment, right now with irene at kitty hawk, no

safer ground. the eye of the storm is 300 miles south-southwest of cape hatteras, north carolina. teras, north carolina. winds are about 100 miles an hour, a category 2 hurricane. it is expected to make landfall in north carolina tomorrow and then move right up the coast to new york and new england. watches and warnings are posted from north carolina all the way up to boston including, of course, new york city. the mayor of new york has ordered the first ever mandatory evacuation for people in low-lying coastal areas. that's about a quarter of a million people. mark strassman is where irene will hit first in north carolina. >> pelley: i'm scott pellly an update on hur hur as it closes in on the east coast. the surf is up, the first bands of rain are beginning to hit the carolina coast and people are moving to safer ground. the eye of the storm is about 300 miles of carolina., 2 it is to up the coast to posted , of of is the beaches and towns are mostly deserted. just the last couple days here in dire county, 180,000 people have evacuated. the major worry with irene is flooding, major fl

eastern north carolina and we have seen observations within that range and expect totals above normal tide level in the midatlantic states in new england and the track will be near the midatlantic coast and southern new england tomorrow. we think they will have hurricane strength on this path. and everyone in the area. in new england should now take precautions and protect the and property. all of these should be close to completion now and the hurricane will move inland and right in the day on tomorrow. and this is the general track here. i expect in the next 24 or 48 hours. this is the national hurricane center mime moim. >> thanks to todd and very interesting. what is unique about hurricane irene it has stuck on the same truck for the past 48 hours. and all of the anticipation where it was going to go and where it would maintain the category 1 status and continued to uphold . most, the base information is the huge amount of rain that this is packing and the fact that in the area where it is now and heading up to virginia beach and norfolk after that. 5-nine foot storm surge. and lo

. >>> irene has come ashore. the powerful hurricane reaches north carolina's coast. you see atlantic beach there to the left of your screen. it's got some strength to it. it remains dangerous, everyone. the national hurricane center has just sent out an update on the storm's path. will it move further east and spare new york city? the ripple effect felt across the country as many flights and trains are canceled. good morning, everyone. i'm alex witt. welcome to msnbc's special live coverage of hurricane irene. forkers say the hurricane has made landfall in north carolina about a half an hour ago with the center coming ashore near cape lookout. it is also weakened a bit. evacuation orders are currently in effect for 2.5 million people along the east coast, and 6 amillion people in the storm's projected path. powerful wind gusts, punishing rain as well just slamming the north carolina coast. storm surges of six to 11 feet are expected there. talk about some flooding potential. we've got 63 shelters now open across 22 counties in that state. then at least 160,000 people have lost power in nor

low-lying areas. so one of the big concerns, y talk about north carolina, a lot of those are counties inland not right on the coast. that's because of all the rainfall. and it has been raining steadily now for several hours. and as chad myers has been pointing out, we could be in this kind of weather and worse weather through tomorrow, late afternoon and evening because the core of this hurricane is expected to pass right over us at about 7:00 a.m. in the morning when we get the category 1, category 2 hurricane winds. for another 6 or 8 hours the backside of the storm, we're going the get tropical storm force winds and the continuation of the rainfall. so a long time yet to go before we see any clear skies here. anderson. >> that's it for us on "360". more hurricane coverage next. >>> hi there. good morning, everybody, from the cnn center. this is your cnn start morning. coming to you an hour earlier today to cover this storm, hurricane irene that is actually putting about 20% of this country's population under threat of this storm. we're talking about 65 million people are i

you on irene's path. it is now hitting north carolina head on. mark potter is live for us in nags head. a good morning to you, what's it like? >> reporter: hi, alex. we're getting some very strong east windows now. it's been blowing all night and it's kicking up at this hour. we're expecting it to get considerably worse as the eye of the storm approaches us. the tide as you can see behind me is coming up. we're just finishing a high tide. that's a factor in this. the good news is i'm not seeing any areas where the tide has breached the sand dunes. they're holding and that's good news. more good news is at least in this area in the upper outer banks area nags head we're not hearing any reports of serious damage. we have two teams out already on the roads. they're not seeing any on instructions on the roads. no washouts. there's a few reports of tree limbs down and things like that. things knocked over in people's yards. but nothing substantial. from what i can see here also, the power is on still on. the emergency managers confirmed what our photographers are seeing, buttal say thi

, north carolina, all the way up the east coast. now we hand it over to greta for the very latest. thank you. >> greta: this is a fox news alert. the united states is on high alert. hurricane irene is closing in. pelting the east coast. right now blasting away as a category 2 hurricane showing no mercy. so far forced evacuation of more than two million from north carolina, maryland, delaware, new jersey, new york, connecticut, on to massachusetts. irene is fierce and you should take her seriously. this could be a matter of life and death. it has not just life and death, she is turning the country upside down. 2,400 flights cancelled. amtrak trains traveling the eastern seaboard, cancelled. governors warning citizens, governor christie warning people to get the hell off the beach. adding you are done working on your tan in new york city, the country's largest mass transit system getting shutdown for the first time ever because of a natural disaster. mayor bloomberg says some refuse to evacuate and he doesn't have the manpower to drag people out. let us a repeat this is serious. if

slicing through the bahamas, north carolina, expected in washington, new york, new england, more than 50 million people in the potential danger zone. >>> board up and get out. i'm carol costello. hurricane irene expected to deliver its first powerful blow to north carolina, warnings to move out of the way while there is still time on this "american morning." >>> good morning. it is friday, august 26th. welcome to "american morning." it's all about the hurricane today. >> i wish i could say happy friday, happy friday for those not living along the northeast coast. >> and whom it hasn't reached yet. >> exactly. let's talk about hurricane irene. now said to be a massive and powerful category 2 storm sitting just off the east coast. 50 million people could feel its force by this weekend. new hurricane warnings are now up, they stretch from north carolina to new jersey. states of emergency have been declared as far north as new england. >> irene totally hammered the bahamas yesterday with torrential rain, 115-mile-per-hour winds, north carolina like i is next. in atlantic beach a surf shop bo

path. it has been hammering north carolina with heavy rains and fierce winds for past several hours. it was just a couple of hours ago that it officially made landfall in north carolina. more than 200,000 people are without power as we speak, and the path of destruction is spreading as this storm continues to move north. major northeastern cities are in its sights, cities that aren't used to being tested for their hurricane preparedness. talking about washington, d.c., boston, new york city, as well. in fact, in some low-lying areas of new york, there has been an unprecedented mandatory evacuation in several places. that evacuation order is still in place, and some of those evacuations still underway. hospital patients, residents, tourists are getting out while they can. many are remaining behind and they're bracing for the possibility of massive flooding and tanlgs stodangerous storm surges. as well as in about an hour, they're going to shut down the public transit system in new york city. so if you've got somewhere to be and you don't have a car, you need to get on a train or a bus so

north carolina to new jersey. if irene continues on track, it would be the strongest hurricane to hit the east coast in seven years. forecasters predict irene will hug the coast, heading straight up the i-95 corridor. it's expected to hit north carolina as a category 3 storm early tomorrow, then head north and slam into new york early sunday, before pushing up into new england. president obama has already declared a national state of emergency in north carolina. drew levenson is in kill devil hills on the outer banks where they're already beginning to feel the effects. good morning, drew. what's the latest there? >> reporter: good morning, betty. the surf is really starting to kick up here along the north carolina coast as we are bracing for a direct hit from hurricane irene tomorrow. right now it is a category 3 hurricane but forecasters predict as this hurricane moves across the warm waters, it could become a cat 4. up and down the east coast, people are packing up and getting out of irene's way. >> i'm taking this one more serious than any one i've ever seen. >> reporter: the monst

. we're still forecast to get slightly weaker as we run the storm over north carolina and then on up into the northeast. and that's good news. i still think because of the size of this storm that that flooding potential in downtown new york, in manhattan, in parts of hoboken and even toward rockaway beach and long beach in new york still there as those waves will be pushing, those winds will be pushing water up against that shore for a very long time. here's what's happened to the storm and what happened earlier today and also during the day yesterday is the turn happened. and during that turn, there was enough wind shear that was pushing the storm from a different direction that the storm didn't like it very much and the storm really disintegrated for awhile. it was very low pressure. it was extremely low pressure. in fact, right now the pressure is low enough to make a category 3 hurricane. it's just not organized enough to get those category 3 winds. we could wake up tomorrow morning -- one of the things the hurricane center will tell you is that the forecast for hurricane wind speed i

free. >> in the news, hurricane irene has made landfall over north carolina as the center comes to shore. metrologists say it is weakening and downgraded the storm overnight to a category 1 with maximum winds ever 90 miles an hour. irene has caused thousand of flights to be cancelled at sfo international airport and throughout the country. >> we are going to have a little heatup over the weekend. we have dense fog along the shoreline, some mist and drizzle, mid-50s in san francisco, 60 in san jose. >> lisa, thank you very much. hurricane irene is weakening this morning. >> hoe is down graded to a hurricane 1. heading northeast from north carolina with new york still in her path. you see boston, atlantic city. still a big threat to the east coast. abc's john is live from lower manhattan right now where flooding is expected. >> irene's path of urban destruction makes this storm historic. >> this hurricane is real. >> this hurricane is real. it's headed our way. we are ready. we are prepared for the worse and we continue to pray for the best. >> after the carolinas she barrels straigh

, north carolina, that i wanted to show you. that is one of the places in which we've had the most dramatic video this morning. look at that. look at the gushing throughout the streets. i'll tell you, our own people spread out throughout the country are getting us some amazing imagery this morning. i want to encourage everyone, if you are in a position to safely, safely take pictures and video, which our staffer was, then go ahead and share it with us at ireport on our main page at cnn.com. we have a lot more coming up. and we'll show it to you as it comes. >> thanks so much, josh. see you throughout the hour. we're in a new hour right now. 1:00 eastern time. i'm fredricka whitfield at the cnn world headquarters in atlanta. hurricane irene is ashore, particularly on the north carolina coast. as many as 65 million people all along the eastern seaboard are going to be impacted in some way, shape or form by irene. and many people are already trying to find shelter where they can. take a look at the size of this storm. eight states from north carolina to massachusetts are under states

though it made landfall at north carolina at cape lookout. what we see happening is this storm system just continuing to refuel here from these warm atlantic waters up the coastline, and that will enable this to keep its current strength. so once again, this storm system even though it has 86 miles per hour at the center of the storm with the latest update, it is very multifaceted. one of the biggest concerns that we've been talking about are these hurricane-force winds. that's the biggest thing to think about when it comes to evacuations. if you're ordered to evacuate and holding it out, it is the best bet to go ahead and definitely get out, because we're also looking at the potential of inland flooding in and throughout a lot of our coastline. >> okay. jeff, thanks so much as we look at kill devil hills and there's kristen waiting to see a live report. i'd like to put up that radar again, because as we look and see up close, you can see virginia beach is in its path. i have a bunch of friends and families that text me directly on the set here. my friend diane johnson there says that

hours ago, making landfall near camp lookout, north carolina. there's new video we are getting from nearby, atlantic beach shows you what irene has left behind already in some areas. the hurricane storm surge swamping the town with ocean water. also, irene is spinning its way northward to some of the biggest cities on the eastern coast of the united states. cities like new york, washington, baltimore, boston, cities that aren't used to being prepared for a hurricane. they could all get slammed by this storm this weekend. right now, irene, a category 1 storm, it is pushing sustained winds of about 85 miles an hour. irene has also claimed at least one life in north carolina. we do have special hurricane coverage for you this morning that spans that coastline, from north carolina all the way up the atlantic seaboard. we're live in washington, new york city, both big cities are in the hurricane's potential storm track. but we need to start with where the hurricane made landfall, and that is in north carolina. i spoke with the north carolina governor, bev perdue, about an hour ago about

update as we begin another hour here. >> western end of the sound in eastern north carolina. winds are reported and gusts are reported in a large part of the area in a 75 to 90 miles per hour . one is 115 miles per hour . cedar ilanterminal in the sound. and we have significant storm surge flooding in the western and southern reaches of the sound. and the storm surge with the passage of the center. over the next 6 or 12 hour. it is going to be in north carolina. and extreme southeast virginia and the hampton roads. five-10 inches of rain and isolated tornados and frequent wind gusts and sustained. there is a lot of the beach erosion. future track of irene after today will move off shore and across the del mar and affect ocean city, mar land and delaware. storm surge in delaware bay possible. and during the day on saturday, up in the injuriesy shore and crossing in long island during the day on sunday. and then finishing its trek in the canadian provinces on monday. we'll get possibly of four-eight feet of storm surge flooding anywhere on the east coast depending on the locality up to l

pounding the north carolina coast. want to show you live pictures from north carolina right now. these are some of the first pictures to come out of the region this morning. you can see it the huge waves coming through. the center of the hurricane made landfall two hours ago. more than two million people along the east coast have been ordered to move to higher ground. irene sustained winds stand at 85 miles per hour. hurricane warnings have been issued from the carolinas up to martha's vineyard in massachusetts. ali rasmus is monitoring flight cancellations in the bay area. rosemary roscoe is tracking the path of the storm. but first we start with elizabeth in virginia beach where the storm is headed next. elizabeth. >> reporter: the conditions here are certainly deteriorating and they're doing so very, very quickly. only by a couple hundred miles from the eye of hurricane irene, so we're right in the outer bad right now, which means heavy winds and rains and the possibility of tornadoes. we've heard local meteorologists telling people the onlookers to see the surf because you can see behi

morning, direct hit. hurricane irene slams into north carolina. it is now a slightly weakened but still dangerous category 1 storm whipping winds as strong as 100 miles per hour. 30-foot waves are slamming the shore, and it spawned multiple tornadoes, and there are very real fears of flooding and of beaches and homes being swept away. >> this is definitely the type of hurricane that can hurt people. >> we are live in the center of it as this monster storm works its way up the coast. >>> get out now. perhaps never in our history has a hurricane had more americans in its sight. 65 million of us and more than 2 million are being told to evacuate. >> this is the real deal. this is a big, deadly and dangerous storm. >>> in new york city this morning, an unprecedented move. nearly 300,000 people under mandatory evacuation orders. thcasis in atltltic city a shutting down. the subways in new york city shutting down, as well. some of america's largest cities are on lockdown as irene lumbers north. >>> and good morning, america. we are live this morning on the west coast as you're looking at live

hurricane irene has made landfall in north carolina. rain and heavy winds battling the east coast. mandatory evacuations are in place and flights are canceled. in a few hours new york transit will slow down. the storm has weakened overnight but it will remain her case force winds into new england. >> hurricane irene already made landfall in north carolina leaving an estimated 200,000 people without power. it has the potential of affecting tens of millions of people as it makes its way north. hurricane irene made landfall near cape lookout n.c. this morning. cities along the east coast are bracing for this major storm. the strongest hurricane that they experience and perhaps 20 years. >> is surfer in virginia beach died after being caught in a recurrence. thousands of people are without power. new york ordered a mandatory evacuation for low-lying areas of the city. >> the best thing that could happen is this storm turns east and heads to see. that is not likely to happen. unfortunately there will be a serious storm coming in. it is better to take precautions and get out of the way

run the storm over north carolina. and then on up into the northeast. and that's good news. i still think because of the size of this storm that that flooding potential in downtown new york, in manhattan, in parts of hoboken and rockaway beach and long beach in new york still there as the waves will be pushing, the winds will be pushing water up against that shore for a very long time. here's what's happened to the storm and what happened earlier today and also during the day yesterday as the turn happened. during that turn there was enough wind shear pushing the storm from a different direction that the storm didn't like it very much. and the storm really disintegrated for a while. extremely low pressure. in fact, right now the pressure is low enough to make a category 3 hurricane. it's just not organized enough to get those category 3 winds. that's not saying it couldn't happen tonight. we could wake up tomorrow morning. one of the things the hurricane center will tell you is that the forecast for hurricane wind speed is harder, much harder than hurricane direction. so we can wake

currently dealing with recovery in puerto rico. now we repeat that process in north carolina, virginia, and up the coast as flooding is still ongoing. when a disaster comes off the news and nobody's paying attention, we still don't go home. we're still working hard across this country from tornadoes and floods that have already struck this country as well as the new damages. that's part of the mission we have at fema to work with our state and local partners, to work with the private sector, volunteer and faith-based community but most of all as the secretary and president said, the american people who we work for. we're there for the survivors. we'll be there through the length of these disasters. we're not going home just because it won't be on the news. we'll be there to support local communities and states as they begin the recovery. thank you. >> okay. thank you very much, everybody. craig and janet will continue to keep everybody posted throughout the week as we have already said. there are a lot of communities that are still being affected. we are particularly concerned about floodin

for new york city. meantime as we speak, north carolina's outer banks are getting hit. we've got reporters all around the region. in a moment we'll check with correspondent on the ground there. i want to begin with chad myers who just got his hands on a fresh update from the national hurricane center. chad, what have you learned? >> i've learned now that storm has turned to the north-northeast. that is the continuation of the right-hand turn, anderson, that we talked about for so very long. there's the eye on radar. there's our john zarrella right there, our brian todd here. i'll take you to it. this is a very wet storm right now. wind gusts are 45, 47 miles per hour. and that's going to be the story. the winds will stay between 40, 50, and even up to 60 all night long beforehand fall brings it in as a category one hurricane. maybe a slight small category two hurricane as we make our way into atlantic beach for 7:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. that's where john zarrella is right now. but you have to notice the size of the green. that's the size of the tropical storm rainfall. almost 3

, here is the track heading north. so it is going to head off of florida and head toward the carolinas, and saturday, we are talking about approaching eastern north carolina. now, will this be near a worst case for eastern north carolina? near cape hatteras or out to sea? hard to say, because even if it goes out to sea, it is a big hurricane in size that it would still take a toll on the outer banks, but then we get here to where we don't see a scenario where from norfolk up to new england, a significant part of that incredible corridor of the biggest cities in the east coast of the united states that a significant part of that is not going to have a direct impact from this hurricane, including perhaps new york city which hasn't had this kind of a hurricane. this kind of a hurricane since 1821. now, 1821 was a long time ago, but there were people there then, and we know what happened and it has been modeled and we know what could happen in new york city and it is all bad. that is why when the mayor came out today to talk about the possibility of evacuating people around new york city,

at the coast along the east coast from north carolina, northward to southern new england. the areas that we're most concerned about are norfolk, delmarva peninsula, delaware bay, close to new jersey, new york harbor, and long island sound, where isolated areas could see storm surge as high as four to eight feet. preparations in this area from north carolina to song new england should be rushed to completion. national hurricane center. >> bill: fascinating information. i want to switch gears, north carolina, the governor, this is her first briefing since irene started to exit that state. let's listen here. >> experienced flooding over the next few days. we know that a major power transmission line is down in tarboro and outages are widespread throughout the east. there are problems being reported all day at waste water treatment plants in once wick, terrell and wayne county, as well as carolina beach, columbia and fremont. we have had reports of possible tornadoes that struck last night in three counties with some minor injuries reported in terrell county, along with structural damag

as we run the storm over north carolina and on up into the northeast. that is good news. i still think because of the size of this storm that that flooding po sensual in downtown new york in manhattan in even towards rockaway beach and long beach in new york still there as the waves will be pushing and the winds will be pushing water up against that shore for a very long time. here is what has happened to the storm as the turn happened. it was very low pressure. right now the pressure is low enough to make a category three hurricane. it's just not organized enough to get the category winds it is much harder than hurricane direction. we can wake up tomorrow morning and see something bigger than that. we will see. i don't think that is what is in the forecast and not what anybody else here will do as well. very close to ed who is right there. probably a little bit farther to the east now. just to the west of the cape light. and then back just to the west there. that's about over to the east of virginia beach. the problem is that we will have such a wind field. so just like kind of

hurricane warning which means they could see hurricane conditions in the next 36 hours. north carolina, virginia, maryland, delaware, new jersey, new york, connecticut are all under state of emergency. there's emerge evacuations in north carolina, maryland and new jersey. president obama is about to address the nation on the threat. >> i urge americans to take it seriously and provide an overview of our ongoing federal preparation for what's likely to be an extremely dangerous and costly storm. i've just convened a conference call with senior members of my emergency response team and directed them to make sure that we are bringing all federal resources to bear and deploying them properly to cope with the storm and its aftermath. i've spoken this morning with governors and mayors of major metropolitan areas along the eastern seaboard to know that this administration is in full support of their efforts to prepare with this storm and stands fully ready to support their response efforts. we will continue to stay in close contact with them. i cannot stress this highly enough, if you are in the projec

per hour as it barrels toward north carolina's outer banks. residents and vacationers have been streeping inland and more than 50 shelters on are standby waiting for those evacuees. pennsylvania governor just redlared a state of emergency there as hurricane irene approaches. msnbc meteorologist jeff is tracking this storm for us. age lot of people said it went from a three to a two it isn't so bad, wrong. >> exactly. we're talking about hurricane force winds that stretch out over 70 miles from the center of this storm system. tropical force storm winds that are still wide reaching stretching out literally some 300 mimes. this is a strong, intense storm even though we've seen it waiver a little bit in its strength. right now on the satellite loop it's getting very, very close to north carolina where we do expect that first landfall. take a look at this, i wanted to show you and start off a little bit backwards with the come computer models. this has not waivered at all, with the latest update we have this going up into the north carolina outer banks for tomorrow morning as we hea

, north carolina. a scary place to be when you hear eastern north carolina is directly in the path of this hurricane. >> when you say the eye wall, which is where the strongest winds are, could come right through here. might jog a little bit north, might jog a little bit south. as incredible as these powerful computers are and what the national hurricane center is able to do, nonetheless, there is some imprecision they're forecasting. i'm standing right here atwater's edge because this water is more than 80 tegs. this is the fuel for the hurricane. this warm water is fwraet fgrea tourists but not for irene as it makes irene even more powerful. i think it's a good opportunity because you've got to understand, folks in north carolina, they've been through this drill before. they understand this. a little further north, maybe they can take tips from the people here about what to do as irene is coming at them. you hear, for instance, the governor of north carolina, bev perdue, she's already declared a state of emergency before the storm arrives. what does that really mean to individuals a

emergencies, up to 65 million people from north carolina to new england are going to feel the impact. >> from the time perspective, this could take weeks, maybe even months to be able to respond to. >> we have all the angles covered. we want to start with bill karins who has the very latest advisory. this came out at 11:00 a.m. what are they saying? any differences? >> there is three stages to the hurricane, the forecasting, the event and then the aftermath. we're almost done with the forecasting part because the center and the event portion is about to begin in the carolinas. let me get to the latest update from the hurricane center and show you what we're dealing with. first things first, nothing changed with the watches, nothing changed with the warnings. i think southern new england, new york city, long island, you'll probably go under the hurricane warning later on tonight. that's the 5:00 p.m. odd adviso. the first thing that got my attention, they're not calling this to go up to a category three. it weakened down to 105 from 115. we have this big, huge hurricane but we don't h

, north carolina, moving toward the north/northwest at 14 miles an hour. hurricane watches and warnings are up from north carolina to new jersey, with landfall expected in north carolina on saturday. we have a team of correspondents posted throughout the hurricane zone. first, cbs news hurricane consultant david bernard in miami. david, what is the latest on the track and the intensity? >> well, no change at all today, scott. this storm is steady state. it is still a major hurricane and, in fact, the latest information from the hurricane center indicates it might get a a little bit stronger tonight. now, here is the track. it remains virtually unchanged. we're expecting that landfall in the eastern plains of north carolina during the day saturday and then it's going to continue a march right up the eastern sea board, possibly near the jersey shore or the new york city area during the day on sunday. that would be a rather dramatic track and it could cause quite a bit of disruption, to say the least. >> pelley: and your best estimate of what happens in the next 72 hours is what? >> well,

looking at, do we know? >> well, we know that when it goes over north carolina right through here, there's not going lot of land there. you have an island. the barrier island and then you have the sound and that's just basically water. now it may travel right over new jersey and if that happens it will lose some steam but if it's just offshore like the computer models are saying, then that wind will pound into new york city at 70, 80 miles per hour for many hours and that's where the storm surge comes from. >> i want to check in with brian todd who is in wrightsville beach, north carolina. >> reporter: a very powerful storm surge here on the beach in wrightsville. we're going to take a walk town. you're looking at johnny's fishing pier. look at these images. this is a very violent storm surge coming up on the beach here. emergency management has directed -- he's worried about these storm surges, over washing the beaches on the dunes. we're not far from the towers. you got about 20 counties in this region that will be impacted by this storm. 3.5 million people. a few brave souls out here wi

may be affecting the storm for us. we happen to be in kitty hawk, north carolina. we might get a slight break before the core is punching the area with the heavy rain and rainfall. the rainfall right now is being blown by the find. cascading over the tip of my cap. orlando, our photographer, may have to wipe the lens from time to time. one thing i want to get to, t.j., please excuse my rough speak. it needs to be said. all americans need to consider this up and down the eastern seaboard. you can be just as dead in a tropical depression as you can in a tropical storm as a category one or category two, three, four or five. just because this is a category one, do not take this lightly. this will be a big rainmaker. the outer banks could get up to a foot of rainfall. we talk about flooding. how that is a tremendous killer of people worldwide. it is a huge danger. you have to keep that in mind. we will get the power outages. the wind is one thing. i'm concerned with that. the waves are coming all the way up to the dunes. i don't think you will get them overtop of them. they went along

near cape lookout, north carolina. a category one storm already reek wreaking havoc. tens of thousands without power. that number is expected to grow throughout today. at least two million people told to get out of the storm's path from north carolina to new york. a good saturday morning to all of you. i'm alex witt. we'll go straight to north carolina right now where northbound's mark potter is live for us from nags head. it was looking pretty bad there last hour. it looks even worse now. >> yeah. these are the worst winds and the strongest rain bands that we've seen since this storm approached this area. the weather forecasters are telling us it's going to get worse before it gets better. as the eye approaches this area. that's not very comforting. we're told that the sustained winds here have measured at about 60 miles an hour, but i can tell you that we're feeling now gusts over that. the waves are coming in heavy too right now, and they're approaching the dunes that protect the pocketed areas from the ocean. we haven't seen any breaches yet, but i won't be surprised if w

of the united states. the storm already lashing the outer banks in north carolina and expected to make landfall in that state tomorrow before moving up the east coast. a hurricane warning now in effect from north carolina. all the way north to massachusetts. president obama cutting short his family vacation on martha's vineyard, which is an island off the coast of massachusetts. he did not cut off his vacation before he took time to warn the other 65 million americans in the path of this storm to take this hurricane extremely seriously. >> all indications point to this being a historic hurricane. i cannot stress this highly enough. if you are in the projected path of this hurricane, you have to take precautions now. don't wait. don't delay. >> the state of virginia residents are stacking sand bags against expected flooding. the governor there warning coastal residents to expect a storm surge of up to six feet when the hurricane comes ashore. in washington d.c. the mayor of d.c. declared a state of emergency warning of possible power outages and flooding. residents of ocean city, m

looking at north carolina. the hurricane is packing winds at 100 miles an hour, south eastern north carolina will be hit first. the nation's eastern corridor is in the hurricane's path millions are scrambling to get ready. president obama is back in the capital after short owning his vacation because of the storm. he europeed those in the storm's -- urged those in the storm's path to follow the advice from the local officials. >> reporter: the waves are intensifying and the evacuation period has ended for the area. the highways stayed busy as the residents try to get out of the way. emergency preparations mean more than leaving town. >> reporter: in fort brag north carolina the flows of supplies is never ending and the trucks are packed full with water and meals ready to eat, once irene blows through fema will distribute. as soon as the need is expressed it's going to go. it will go in a hurry. >> along atlantic beach, in packed up to get out of follow the hand terry evacuation orders others are waiting it out and took stocking up. >> it's going to move off. >> in south carolina win

north carolina and has moved north, bringing high winds and dropping a foot of rain in some places. at least six people have died so far. and irene is not done yet with more on the storm, we go live to ocean city, maryland. >> reporter: the rain continues, the sustained winds are stronger than they have been all night. we're bracing ourselves for the brunt of this storm. now really just miles away. more than 1 million people will spend saturday night in the dark. hurricane irene has carved a path up the eastern seaboard, claiming lives, knocking out power and leaving a mess behind. >> so is this this is a very dangerous situation. flooding is going to be significant. >> reporter: still a category 1 hurricane, irish has her eye set on the mid-atlantic region, where conditions have spawned at least one tornado and prompted the national weather service to issue several tornado watches. >> we're looking at anywhere from 6-12"f rain throughout the state, high winds throughout the state, and extraordinary damage to the barior islands. >> reporter: new york city execute and unprecedented

atlantic beach, north carolina. this is probably where the calm before the storm. the storm is huge. it devastated puerto rico and the bahamas. hurricane irene is heading for north carolina expected to hit in the next 29 hours or so. you can see the devastation there in puerto rico and the bahamas. the national weather service has downgraded it to category two. now since it has slowed down, it's about a day away from hitting north carolina. it's said to be the size of texas. they are preparing by boarding up buildings and evacuating. >> our principal goal is not to lose a life. there is no reason anyone should lose their life as a result of this. we know it's coming. we are implementing safety measures. but it creates a sense of anxiety because it's getting ready to change your whole life upside down. >> airlines are warning passengers to brace for flight cancellations. american airlines has canceled 150 flights out of north carolina and bahamas. >> reporter: things will looking good right now. certainly we expect things to change this afternoon into tomorrow and through the weekend. an

north carolina to atlantic city to new york towards boston. philadelphia in the way, as well. john hendron is live from lower manhattan where they are expecting flooding and evacuations have already been ordered. >> reporter: good morning. we are seeing the first drops of hurricane irene here in new york. 11 states are under a hurricane watch. that storm stretched north carolina the eye going over north carolina and it is now moving its way up to washington, philadelphia and new york making it potentially the storm of the century. >>> i reason landed like a hammer with 85 miles an hour winds. >> this hurricane is real. it is headed our way. we are ready and we are prepared for the worst and we continue to pray. >> she arrived as a hurricane 1 hurricane. it makes this storm historic. after the carolinas she went straight to new york city, hitting baltimore and d.c. on the way. then boston later. president obama cutting his own vacation short warned americans to take irene seriously. >> i cannot stress this highly enough, if you are in the projected path of this hurricane you have to

river and the salt water going down in the subway systems and such. >> north carolina, sitting over land, break up or not break up. >> not break up. it is over kind of land and kind of water . so the right about that is over the water. it is all flat. mountainous terrains breaks it over. and land doesn't give a fuel source. it has enough of the water around it. look at the size of visible satellite imagery and people are saying it is a category one storm and weakening and not as big of a deal. look at that. it is a big deal shepherd. >> it is a big deal. >> you said it. >> as it continues to track up, rick. is there anything about the atmosphere that can ditin mish the storm? >> it will diminish a little bit. it will start to move over colder water, relative, a few degrees cooler and wind shear that will break it up and farther north it goes. there is a storm that is strengthening. we'll see slow diminishing by maybe 10 miles per hour sustained and by the time it gets from there to there and that is neglibble. the storm surge is the same and amount of rain is the same and you will have a

described as she churns towards the east coast, threatening up to 65 million people from north carolina to new england. irene is now a category two storm and a massive scramble is now underway to try and escape its path. for the very latest on the storm, let's get right to nbc meteorologist bill karins. bill, you've been tracking this. she's huge. >> yeah. we just got the new information from the hurricane center about three minutes ago. we're trying to digest that information it did go from a category three to a category two. it only dropped about five miles per hour. i know it's no longer considered a major hurricane, but the forecast has it going back up to major hurricane before making landfall in eastern north carolina. those temporary fluxes in the storm. the eye roughly 200 miles east of flagler county of florida. it's not heading towards georgia at all. it's going to skirt the coastline of south carolina before making landfall. let's get to some of the latest. this is the storm system. this is a huge storm. more than anything else. i don't care about the center, how intense it is i

emergency. hurricane irene makes a bee line for the north carolina coast. >>> occupational hazard. a car explodes in a los angeles firefighter's face. >>> and a diamond discovery. the girl's best friend just got a whole lot bigger with this the girl's best friend just got a whole lot bigger with this test planetary find. captions paid for by nbc-universal television >>> hello and good morning. welcome to our viewers across the nation including the pacific time zone. i'm lynn berry. today we begin with a perfect storm. that is how hurricane irene is being described as she churns towards the east coast, threatening up to 65 million people from north carolina to new england. irene is now a category 2 storm, and a massive scramble is now underway to try and escape its path. for the very latest on the storm, let's turn to bill karins. he has the latest track that irene is taking. >> unfortunately, no good news overnight. in the forecast is still supposed to go across eastern north carolina, then rake the eastern seaboard. we're now getting a good view of the storm on radar. one of the

million customers are without power in virginia, and north carolina right now. president obama has declared a state of emergency in nine states, along the eastern seaboard. new york city has ordered an unprecedented evacuation, of 370,000 people. some of america's biggest cities are now bracing for the worst. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer, you're in "the situation room." we want to start with chris lawrence, he's joining us from maryland, the chesapeake beach, right now, chris, this powerful storm is moving in your direction, what are you seeing and what are you feeling? >> reporter: i feel very wet, and i can feel a tremendous amount of wind, that kicked up in the last few hours. where i'm standing now and a lot of the areas right around it, earlier this morning when we were here at 11:00 in the morning or noon, this was sand and very quickly over the past few hours, we have seen the tide start to rise and the winds get more and more intense here. it really says something, when you consider how far we still are from the

sometime tonight in north carolina. we're live there, and up and down the east coast this morning with the full details. it's friday, august 26th, 2011, and this is "the daily rundown." of course we'll have the morning's top political news as well for you this hour. the president is expected to deliver a statement on hurricane irene at 11:30 a.m. eastern time. let's get right to that big story of the day, though. hurricane irene has left the bahamas in its wake and is headed straight for the u.s. coastline. it weakened slightly overnight but could be re-energized in the warm waters of the atlantic today. nbc meteorologist bill karins joins us now. bill, what's the latest? >> well, chris, it doesn't matter if it weakened overnight. this storm is huge sizewise. the incensety is not going to vary much until it makes landfall. we have about 24 hours before we start to see the devastating winds on the coastline of north carolina. let me show you what the storm looks like right now. this black line, by the way, is the center of the storm. so if you want to know what direction it's headi

, rains and dangerous winds from north carolina to new england. already tonight, evacuations are under way along north carolina outer banks. our teams are in place and we have two reports tonight beginning with nbc's kerry sanders on cedar island, north carolina. kerry? >> reporter: good evening, lester, this is the first hurricane to threaten the u.s. mainlands this year. if irene does make it to the land, the real concern is not just those powerful winds and the rain, but also the tidal surge, that storm surge that comes ashore that could inundate coastal areas like this. hurricane irene slammed the turks and caicos islands and portions of the southeastern bahamas with winds just under 100 miles an hour. tonight wide spread areas there are without power and phone lines. in nassau, long lines at the airport as tourists from toronto cut vacations short. >> we're very sad to be leaving early. >> we had to load up all of our luggage and put it in plastic bags in the bathtub. that sort of set in reality too. >> reporter: pictures from the u.s. space station show the size of the storm and

already being felt on the outer banks of north carolina. in the north, 2 million people in coastal and low lying orders have been ordered to evacuate. hurricane warnings are posted from north carolina to new york and watches and warnings are posted for new england. new york has ordered more than 300,000 people who live in flood-prone areas to leave. and public transit inside new york city is scheduled to stop service at noon tomorrow. and this is the first time that the transit system has been shut down because of weather. broadway will also shut down. all plays on saturday and sunday night will go dark. we have live team coverage tonight. our meteorologist is tracking the hurricane. nbc's jay gray is braving the conditions in north carolina for us. we'll get to him in a morning. we begin with nbc bay area live at sfo with passengers already feeling the impact. already getting tough to get out tonight, isn't it? >> reporter: more than a dozen flights from the east coast to sfo have been canceled because of hurricane irene. airport officials say it's only going to get worse this wee