National Hurricane Center stats 5pm EDT, Aug 26, 2011: Location: Latitude 31.7 north... Longitude 77.4 west (see map) Direction: north at 14mph Maximum sustained winds: 100 mph Current rating: Category 2 Hurricane Irene is due to arrive early Sunday in New York, and for the first time in history mandatory evacuations are in place for coastal areas in New York City. While Irene has weakened slightly in the last 12 hours, this just reiterates the seriousness of the threat the storm still bears. B

A rare 5.8 magnitude earthquake that rattled the east coast today will soon be a distant memory as our focus turns to the probable landfall of Hurricane Irene. This will be the first hurricane to make landfall in the United States since 2008. As of 11pm est. August 23 Irene was a category one hurricane with sustained winds of 90 miles an hour. According to the National Hurricane Center the storm is forecast to gain in strength over the next day. Current forecasts call for a potential category 3