Hurricane Irene Takes Aims for Eastern Seaboard

Editor’s Note: I am back writing again comfortably after my accident. For those unfamiliar with my accident, you can read about it on Police-Scanner.info's mainpage. Now, moving on to this post…

First an earthquake, now a hurricane!

Mother Nature seems to have a grudge towards the East Coast this week. Unless you have been living under a rock, you know that the East Coast was struck with a Magnitude 5.8 Earthquake Tuesday afternoon.

The earthquake was widely felt by an estimated 11 million people in 12 states. Luckily it was only a Magnitude 5.8 earthquake and only minimal damage and no injuries reported. Living here in Southern California all my life, a Magnitude 5.8 is usually a bump in the day or as one Twitter user put it “5.8? That's what us Californians use to stir our coffee with :) "

However, for you East Coasters, it’s not over yet as Hurricane Irene is now on track to skim the eastern seaboard staring Friday afternoon and make landfall somewhere between North Carolina and Long Island, NY, possibly Manhattan on Saturday or Sunday afternoon and up into New England.

Right now Irene, a category 3 hurricane, is tearing NW through the Bahamas moving at 11 mph. Currently packing 120+ mph winds with gust to 150+ mph, Irene is expected to strengthen a bit before landfall.

That said, evacuations are underway in North Carolina coastal areas and the U.S. Navy has ordered all its ships in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, which includes Norfolk and Newport News, to prepare to get under way within 24 hours as a precaution.

So, if you live on the eastern coast, it's time to batten down the hatches, board the windows, and get ready for Irene. Better yet, got out of dodge before roads get shut down. I'm hearing on the Weather Channel that there is already 8-10 mile traffic back-ups out of the Carolinas. I will post updates to this post when possible.

To stay informed with the latest information, check out the following sites:

+ National Weather Service - National Hurricane Center

+ Weather Underground - Hurricane Irene Coverage

+ Google: Hurricane Irene News Coverage

+ Emergency Kits - Affordable and Customizable. Stay Safe!

+ Severe Weather Scanning/Frequencies

That's it for now, till next time stay safe!

-RF