Winds, Rain And Power Outages From Hurricane Irene, Which Is Now Larger Than Hurricane Katrina At It’s Maximum Size, Reach North Carolina Shores.
The 11:00 AM NOAA advisory put the center of Hurricane Irene 375 Miles south of North Carolina shores as it continues its path due north straight toward the coast.
The massive storm now has Tropical Storm force winds spanning over 290 miles from the center with the storm now spread well over 600 miles wide. Tropical storm-force winds spread up to 430 miles wide – tropical the distance from Baltimore to Portland, Maine – which is larger than Katrina at its maximum size.
The director of DHS and FEMA is warning of widespread power outages that are expected to last for days, along with deadly flash floods and hurricane force winds that will reach far inland.
Power outages are starting already as the storm first makes land fall with only tropical-storm force winds hitting the coast right now.
Hurricane Irene Now Hammering Myrtle Beach, North Carolina.