program yesterday, lying there, guarding over his owner's casket. goes going to the friend of the seal that was killed in the chinook crash, the famous navy seal. his name is scott nichol. we're so happy he's taking hawkeye. he'll have a happy home. thanks for warning us on "the five." keep it here on fox news, because we'll have continuing update on the coverage of the hurricane irene as it hits the east coast. good morning. all along the east coast people are bracing for the worst as hurricane irene targets the entire coastline. more than two million people have been ordered to evacuate. 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 york city, atlantic city and to virginia beach and now we are looking at a category 1 storm. this storm has just weakened, so there is good news for us. a category one storm. everybody needs to stay alert. it is not so much the strength of the winds with the storm system, but the size of it. it is a very large storm system. it is 90 miles out from the center of the storm. and tropical storm-force winds extending 290 miles out from the center of the storm. it is very large, impacting many areas, raleigh, north carolina getting in on some of the rain. and you can see some clouds starting to reach the southern portions of jersey and spreading through portions of maryland. we have storm surge and flooding rains and there is the threat with this storm system for some tornados. some of the outer rain bands could produce some tornados of some of the -- as some of the thunderstorms rotate. virginia beach is currently

under a tornado watch. this watch is in affect until 11:00 a.m. this morning. we have another watch across the eastern portions of north carolina. that is in affect until 5:00 a.m. this morning. and there is currently a tornado warning across portions of north carolina. i do want to point out some tornados have touched down. one in beuford county and there was a preliminary report that there were injuries with that one. we will keep you updated on that. sustained winds at 90 miles an hour. the forecast track, not that many changes. we are still looking at rainfall across the outer banks. as we head to 9:00 a.m., so still six more hours to go. reports out of eastern north carolina of as much as six inches. we are talking total accumulations up to a foot or more. 15 inches. that's something that is a huge concern. the storm system will track northward and accelerate as we head into the next several days.

a big impact will be felt. we are looking at the center of the storm moving through on saturday and then heading into late sunday. here is a look at the radar. or actually the precipitation and accumulation forecast, allots of rain is expected. more than 12 inches expected as far north like new york city and new new england. >> how different is this from a category two to a category one. we don't want to lull people into come play sen see saying i can ride this thing out. people need to listen to all of the warnings out there. >> it is only 10 miles per hour weaker. that is not a big deal. this is a massive storm system. i think what is most dangerous about this particular hurricane, it is still a hurricane even though it is a category one storm. it is how large it is and how long a duration this is going to be along many of these areas. you will be looking at tropical storm conditions in excess of 12 hours. that should be enough to weaken trees 1k3* knock them

down. a lot of flooding expected, and there is a significant storm surge along the coastal areas. eastern north carolina could see a storm surge as high as 11 feet above ground level. further off the coast, even though the storm is expected to weaken, are you looking at a storm surge of up to eight feet above ground level. that could be just the storm surge that is devastating along these areas. >> could cover one floor of a house. pretty significant. is there any chance it could go out to see? >> there is always a chance. you a lot of models are pointing to this. a lot of consensus on this, and we are pretty sure that the center of the storm system could make another landfall across western:00 island and even one of the five burrows in new york city. >> you can't even buy water anymore in this city. >> thanks. are you riding out the storm or are you racing out of town? have you already seen storm damage in your area? if you have, we want to know about it. tweet us, facebook us, tweet

maria at fox maria molina, with an "a" at the end. write us your comments and i have a fan page on my facebook. we will try to read some of these on air. >> social media is important. we saw all of the tweets and people posting messages during the earthquake the other day, and this is a way for people to share their experiences and ask questions. send the questions in and we will pose them to maria and get you answers to all of the questions that you send us. >> absolutely. she is an expert. virginia's governor bob mcdonald declared a state of emergency, but did not order an evacuation saying he would leave that up to the local officials. virginia beach officials are ordering mandatory evacuation for parts of the city. all day we have been hearing stories of residents choosing to ride out the storm. we go live to virginia beach.

what are things looking like? >> good morning. you can see it is certainly a different scene from yesterday. beaches are closed and filled with heavy rains and pelting -- or heavy winds and pelting rains. you everybody got out of town, but we spoke with a hotel manager and he put up signs saying you have to leave. he didn't want to be responsible for your safety, and that's what we are seeing up and down the beach. the department of transportation cents -- sent out a release and if they don't believe the roadways are safe they are shutting them down. 23* res -- if residents did not leave, they would have to stay here for rete maneder of the storm. these conditions could stay anywhere from 18 to 24 hours. this is probably the best that we are going to see. the good news is there are a number of shelters open. there are people who are here who need more shelters and he

is prepared to open them. as you can see behind me, we are starting to feel a storm. this is going to be the lightest. >> thanks for keeping us posted. hurricane irene is projected to make landfall near moorehead city, north carolina. at this hour the streets of moorehead city are completely empty, a ghost town, as they prepare for a storm surge up to 11 feet as maria was telling us. jennifer davis filed this report from the coastal sfi. >> waves crashing into this pier in atlantic beach. it was some of the first signs that irene is just around the corner. earlier in the day it was still sunny, and many people took advantage of the clear skies to prepare for the powerful storm's arrival. ray jordan was one of the many people pulling their boats from the nearby marina. >> there are two boats in there and the owners were getting them out.

they said they won't be there in an hour or so. >> much of the area was boarded up and emptied out. but folks left messages. one list smeftd storms that struck north carolina in recent years. they say you have to dig deep into history to find a storm similar to irene. >> you have to go to september of 1960, hurricane donna striking this beach as a hurricane 3 to find a storm of comparable size and intensity. >> that's why a lot of locals say they paid attention to evacuation orders. >> i remember my parents talking about hazel in 1954. you never know. i said it is better to be safe. >> those that can't afford to stay at hotels have three shelters in moorehead city they can stay at. >> there is the inconvenience of it, but they know they will be protected where they are. >> the salvation army said

they have had more than 200 people spending the evening at their shelter. >> thanks, jennifer. hurricane irene is barreling down the north carolina shoreline. relief workers are standing by and ready to respond. joining us on the phone to explain more 1* major general gregory lusk who is with the national guard. i am looking on the computer and i can see that irene is now 60 miles off the coast of north carolina. what are you seeing in your state in. good morning. thanks. i haven't seen much from my position. i am located in raleigh, north carolina right now. we are experiencing some of the rain bands and occasional gusts, but unfortunately i'm not at the coast, so i can't say firsthand what is going on there. >> tell us about the resources you have lined up and ready to go to respond to this

hurricane. reliability is the three key tenants. in our case the governor called us up and got us in position. we have had about almost 300 soldiers and airmen who have gotten into positions with various nodes at the enterprise over the last few days. primarily broken up into teams that are capable of doing specialty tasks. the warehouse operations for example are ones they can manage commodities for distribution into the impacted areas after the storm has lifted. distribution teams are capable of getting the commodities pushed out to the impacted areas as soon as the storm lifts. we have teams on the eastern branch of the emergency management. they are making plans and

coordinating with the national guard and other emergency management partners to have the coordinated response. security teams are ready to go. they can perhaps clear the way and facilitate the mobile tee of some of the first responders as they get into the affected areas. that's where we are at right now. not to mention another 2500 soldiers standing by and ready to respond in the first 24 hours to get to the field if needed. >> sounds like you were prepared. i was reading on your website about the north carolina helicopter uhuatic rescue team, and some helicopters that are ready in case they are needed to rescue people. talk about the evacuation orders along the coast of your state and how many people you expect have stayed back and stayed behind and are trying to ride this thing out. >> rick, i don't know the exact numbers on that.

we were discussing that earlier in meetings we have had with the state emergency response team. and there have been several thousand that have stayed out particularly along the outer banks. again don't know the exact figures, but several thousand. we know they have decided perhaps to stay along the outer banks. a lot of the evacuations as you know have been ordered and they have been inspired and motivated to have occurred over the last few days. and most people thankfully have heeded the warnings and left the area in the path of the storm. >> but if need be you are ready to go in and rescue people? >> of course we are. we are lending some of the helicopters we have available for first response afterwards to include additional aviation aspects that were pre positioned in not only north carolina, but states around

north carolina in order to facilitate that as well. >> the latest update just came out, and it shows this hurricane has weakened. i'm concerned and probably you are too and people may hear it was weaken than what we were expecting and maybe they think they don't need to take precautions, that this storm will not be as dangerous as we had feared. what will you say to folks out there? >> i guess the only thing i can do is echo what governor purdue said on various press conferences throughout the day. treat it seriously and a lot of the danger relies -- or lies and people think this is a time to get out and look around. we knew very well firsthand unfortunately from many hurricanes in the past that this could be a very devastating event and people need to treat it seriously. >> i just want to ask you

quickly, sir, i'm wondering, did the governor tell you guys to prepare for a one or two-day event or did you see the national guard being involved in helping with the aftermath ft -- of the hurricane for days and weeks ahead sf. >> that remains to be seen after the storm has passed. but one of the tenants of the operational plan is rely ability. the key component is sustain ability. i know the north carolina national guard soldiers and airmen have taken the time to pack their bags and will remain in contact with their units so they can respond. we have 2500 people right now who are on 24-hour availability or response tile. -- response time. >> good luck to you, and to all of the national guard members in north carolina who will be playing such a crucial role in the next couple days and possibly even longer.

he is with the north carolina national guard. thank you sir. >> thank you, rifnlght. >> dc is batening down the hatches and getting ready for hurricane irene as well. while the city might not get hit the hardest, it is in a low-lying area. it is a tie at the time basin that floods with a lot of rain. that has the nation's capital working to get the sandbags distributed to the residents before the impact. the first family is now back in washington having returned one day early from their vacation on martha's vineyard. peter is live in the nation's capital to talk about what is happening there. peter, when did the first family get back to the white house? >> not until late last night. the first family landed on the south lawn at 11:16 p.m. last night. they were supposed to stay at the vineyard until today, but they came back to beat the storm. they did beat the storm. it is not expected to hit the district until tonight. president obama said on a phone call with governors up and down the east coast that all indications point to this being a historic hurricane. that's from president obama.

>> what are the people in dc doing to get ready, pete ?er. >> officials are hoping that pete are listening to the warnings. the mayor here vin -- vincent gray was warning people. they say if the power should go out, we should expect it to be widespread and be out for a couple of days. over at walter reed army medical center in the process of shutting down permanently right now, they are trying to get as many patients out by ambulance as possible ahead of schedule. they will take the patients over to the national naval medical center in bethesda, maryland. doctors are telling anybody expecting to give birth in the next few days to pack their bags now in case. believe it or not, when the barometer drops with the hurricane, some experts say it can cause a woman's water to break early. so there is a concern for expectant mothers and a concern for cell towers. earlier we had an earthquake and all of the cell lines were

tied up. it was impossible to make a call. now the worry is something can happen to one of the cell towers from the hurricane that could interrupt service even worse. >> we think about the elderly. we think about those in the hospitals and we forget those pregnant women. i can't imagine. i heard the full moon, but not the barometer. what about the transportation? in the city they are closing the subways at noon and five area airports closed as well. what is it like there? >> so far right now everything is basically the way it should be at 3:18 in the morning in dc. they are expecting major delays as the day comes through. >> thanks, peter. >> the things you learn from peter. we are following the latest movements of hurricane irene. it is now a category 1 storm as it approaches the coast of north carolina. but what about the people who have already been left in her path of destruction? we will talk with someone from the salvation army coming up next.

welcome back to our live coverage, everybody as we look at time square which is looking pretty empty, and with good reason. the storms are expected to move in, and some rain is supposed to hit the new york city region in the next several hours and then rain throughout the day. and of course the entire area is under a hurricane warning as well, and a lot of things that are normally open on a busy weekend at the end of the summer in new york city, they are just not open, and they are not going to be open this weekend. we were telling you about the airports. all five area airports were closed down you. arrivals will stop. if you have any plans to travel to new york city, make

sure you call ahead. a lot of tourists are in town and they ordered broadway tickets they bought months and months ago. broadway will be canceled, i'm sorry to say. there won't be any shows. so much for the show must go on. the show will not go on in light of hurricane irene. all 23 broadway musicals and plays have been canceled for saturday and sunday. you have to head to the box office to make other arrangements or get your money back. public transportation, the governor said all public transit in the city will shut down at noon on saturday. the bridges are a problem depending on the winds. the bridges will be shut down if the winds kick to the 60 mile an hour range for any extended period of time. and they will look at the tunnels as well. >> mandatory evacuations for a lot of new york city too. there are 91 emergency

shelters, here and you can bring your pets. that's what i like. and i'm hearing you can get -- if you do want to come to the city, which i don't advise you can get a cheap hotel room. i heard the wall dor of was $90. >> that's quite a deal. irene is tearing up the north carolina coastline. the outer bands are now hitting that area. that's not the only problem the state has been dealing with. the storm has forced evacuation and beverly has a message for residents and they say to, quote, use common sense and stay inside. >> what happens to those left in the path of hurricane irene? the mayor is the national communication secretary for

the salvation army and he joins us by the phone. thanks for being with us, george. >> my pleasure. >> this is go time for you guys. do you have a lot of volunteers headed over to the coast? >> we have been asked that that will enable us to feed 45,000 to 50,000 people in a location. so we are ready. we have stayed to pennsylvania. >> how do you decide where it will be dispatched? do you move them accordingly? >> we use the media and listen to what the hurricane center is saying. we get it close to that location while remaining in a safe spot. when things clear out we can

get to the disaster seen quickly. where fema asks us to go we put the food trucks and the volunteers and make sure the people are well fed and they are hydrated and they have the basic essentials that they need. >> i know a lot of people want to help. what if they want to volunteer? how do they do that? >> it is difficult because we have certification and safety requirements for volunteers. we spend the entire year, all-around the year we are training volunteers constantly, and we will take volunteers if we feel it is safe enough to bring them in. call the local salvation salvation army, and we will find a way to use the volunteer. >> what is the one thing that you can think of. -- think of that a lot of people forget to do and don't think about until it is too late?

>> i had to remind my wife yesterday, he picked up a couple cases of water because we don't know what the conditions are going to be. the water is important because it does help to keep you hydrated, and if the electricity goes out, you can drink a bottle of water. >> she said make sure have you wet ones and make sure you fill the bathtub with water. i didn't think about it, but when you flush the toilet the water leaves and you don't have more to replenish it. you take the water out of the bathtub -- it is terrible to talk about on tv, but it is something you can -- you have to think about. wet ones and phone chargers. the crapg that will charge your >> the crank that will charge your phone. >> we discussed it yesterday. i said put buckets outside your house. the rain will fill up the house and then you fill up the bucket for flushing toilets.

and that may be a solution. i also want to point out if you don't mind that when we look at the track of the storm we are in puerto rico and the ba you huh mas. 8 had you -- 800,000 people without electricity from puerto rico and the dominican. salvation army teams are already involved in the regions. they are delivering meals. the impact of irene as it is moving slowly is leaving destruction along the way. the first impact you will recall was in puerto rico, and the salvation army is active there, and we have been asked by the government to help with the initial assessment of the damage. >> nice reminder. we can go on-line and give what we can. if you can afford. it go on-line and give to the salvation army. >> thank you for being with us. >> thank you. >> they do such great work.

your mom has great advice. i was taking notes. >> they know it all. once are you a mom it is instant. >> we have the wipes in my house. that's not a problem. we have lots of baby wipes. coming coming up next, governors across the east coast are urging people to get out of town, but irene is making travel more difficult. we'll tell you what travel routes have been hit hard. that's coming up next. and we will talk to one resident who decided to ride out the storm and she will tell us why. don't go away.

it is the bottom of the hour and let's see where things stand with hurricane irene. natural disaster after natural disaster, just days after an earthquake shook the east coast, residents along the atlantic are now bracing for hurricane irene. more than two people million -- two million people have been ordered to evacuate. >> they are told to use common sense. states of emergency are in affect from north carolina to maine. and as we just told you at the top of the hour, the latest update is irene is now a category 1 storm. it has been weakened, but it is still extremely dangerous. and that's why the new jersey governor has had a blunt message for sun bathers who were out on the beach he said

get the hell off the beach. >> i saw some of the news feeds of people siting on the beach. get the hell off the beach. get out. >> it is done. it is 4:30. you have maximized your tan. get off the beach. get in your car and get out of the area. >> he doesn't minutes words. >> the people are trying to go somewhere else and they are now having a harder time getting out of town. now, a look at how irene is affecting travelers. maria, you hope people didn't wait until the last minute to listen to the evacuation orders. the long longest they waited the harder it is going to be. >> yes. it makes it impossible or extremely dangerous if you head outdoors. we recommend that if you did

not heed the warn gz and you are looking at tropical storm conditions you just stay home and ride out the storm. we are already looking at reports coming from eastern north carolina, and not even because of the storm, but because of the tornado. there is that tornado threat once the outer rain bands of the storm starts coming onshore, and we do have some tornado watches in affect eastern time. it is in portions of eastern north carolina and that one across north carolina in affect until 3:45 eastern time. hopefully people are indoors and it does include one county in particular that was hit earlier this year by a tornado that hit in northeast north carolina. there is a severe thunderstorm

that is showing rotation and it could bring a tornado down on the ground. the storm has continued to weaken and that means the storm is weakening. that's a little good news. that is not a sign of relief completely. this is a relatively slow moving storm system. the outer bands is expected in the next six hours. it will continue to track northward. and if it does shift a little inland, we are looking at landfall here guys in new york city. very rare. >> we will be checking back with you as we continue to track the storm. thanks. >> it is one irene versus another. that's right. irene nolan, she is the editor of island free press, and she has decided to ride out the hurricane from the outer banks. she joins us over the phone. >> we want her to be kind and

we want her to go away basically, right? >> yes. i have had a number of comments. i'm sorry about my name sake. i can't say much about it. >> it makes for a good story. why are you deciding to stay? >> i think there are a lot of people left at the storm and it is not a decision anyone makes casually, but on this small island, it is so isolated and there will be major damage to the highway and we might be cutoff from -- if you leave you may not be able to get back. this is our home and these are our businesses. many people we understand what the pit falls are we understand the cons consequences. we don't expect anyone to come and rescue us.

we have been through storms before. we have made ourselves and our homes and our property as safe as we can. things are getting intense here. my house is shaking. i'm nervous, but i think those of us who have stayed have made it a good decision. >> i am hearing if you stay and you need rescue crews you are saying are you on your own. >> and everyone who stays understands that. we don't expect people to come and rescue us. it is not a decision we make casually. i had an upset stomp mass when i decided to stay.

it is a difficult decision. i report on the news here and it is more difficult if we leave. those are material things. they can be replaced. but this island has a long tradition of people looking out for each other and making it through storms. until recent times nobody thought of leaving it a storm. as far as i know no one has ever been killed in a storm and that's not to say it can't happen. >> my goodness you sound like a sweet lady. where can we find those articles. >> island free press .org. >> thanks, irene.

>> thank you. well, if you have never been to the outer banks of north carolina, it is gorgeous. it is one way in and one way out like she was saying. >> up and next you will hear what the mayor of kill devil hills was saying in the path of the irene.

>> if you choose to stay, you are taking the risk on your own. gretta spoke with the mayor from north carolina earlier tonight. >> now moving down the coast of north carolina which is right now getting slammed. joining us is the mayor of kill devil hills, north carolina. his town has a mandatory evacuation going on right now. mayor, are you not leaving, are you 1234*. >> nome, i am here for the duration.

>> why? >> the mayor has to stay for one thing and another it is necessary that i will be here. >> looking out the window what do you see? >> heavy rain, the windows in all of my houses are extremely frosted because i have my air conditioner set on 68 in anticipation of losing power. i want to keep my house cool. >> how about your neighbors or friends or family? have they all left? >> my 80-year-old mother left today and has been evacuated 90 miles inland which gives me great comfort. my neighbors are also here. >> are you worried? are you afraid? >> yes, ma'am, i am. >> well, then why don't you leave? >> as i said, my responsibility as mayor requires that i stay here and i share many of the same concerns of my neighbors who chose not to leave do, and that it is very difficult -- we are surrounded by bodies of water and bridges, and the ability to return is very

limited by the outage of bridges in the event this storm transpires the way it does, greta, and then the other thing is most of the evacuation routes are to the north in the path of the storm. >> do you have any neighbors who want to evacuate and can't for some reason? for instance they are physically unable, or they don't have cars or they don't have money, they have no place to go? any friends or neighbors like that? >> nome, not in my neighborhood. -- no, ma'am, not in my neighborhood. anybody who is here is here by choice and is uh aware of the fact by choosing to stay here they are taking a risk jie. do you tell them, look, i am the mayor so i am staying, but you should get out of here. >> no, i have told everybody that it is a matter of personal choice. all of the people i know who have stayed are people who are not poor of health, not small children and none elderly and none pregnant women.

they are in a low risk class. they have made the choice to take the risk. >> what kind of storm surge can your home take? >> my realization of my home is 15 feet. i am a black -- block back from the sound which is an expecting an eight-foot storage surge. i may have water under my house, but it is unlikely -- i am certain i won't have any in my house. >> how about the houses in the area, are they on stilts or at a high elevation, or are there houses that will be flooded? >> yes, ma'am, they recall by law required to be built on pilings at least to an elevation of nine feet. >> ever been in a hurricane before? >> yes, ma'am, this is about my 6th. >> what's it like? >> it is no fun. it is miserable. it is very noisy and uncomfortable during the night of the storm and the winds. the next day are you likely to be without power.

it is very hot and stick de. -- sticky. it is no fun. i wouldn't recommend it to anyone. >> so once the storm passes through, what are you going to do as mayor? what do you see as the reason to stay there? >> well, the first thing we will do is damage assessment, and we will have to make some determination on whether or not we want to seek federal aide and what we have to do in order to get our infrastructure improved, and what we have to do to ensure the safety of our citizens here. >> the governor issued an evacuation order. that was signed by the governor? >> yes, ma'am. >> have you had a conversation with the governor telling the governor you just won't go? >> oh no, no, i haven't had the opportunity to talk to governor purdue. and if i did, i wouldn't tell her i just won't go. i will tell her i will stay here to ensure the safety of the people who have chosen to stay here as well. >> well, mr. mayor, good luck. i hope that -- i don't think you will get lucky and the storm will escape you. but who knows.

i wish you and your neighbors who did stay good luck and i hope that you don't lose your power and i hope you don't get flooded. nice talking, mr. mayor. >> well, beverly purdue agrees with the mayor and she says if you are riding out the storm use common sense and stay inside. coming up next, irene is now a category 1 storm. it has been down graded, but as we have heard, several experts say that does not mean you should let your guard down. we will talk with an expert at the national hurricane center live right here on fox newschannel coming up next.

welcome back, everybody. we are live at about 10 minutes to 4:00 on the east coast. hurricane irene is now a category 1 storm. weaker, but still very dangerous. let's get the latest on track. joining us on the phone is a meteorologist from the national tornado center, david zalinski. what does it mean the storm has been down graded to a category 1? >> well, it does mean the maximum winds have decreased very slightly. however, it is important to remember that the real key with this storm is not necessarily how strong the maximum winds are, but really the extent to the extent the strong winds reach.

the storm remains very large. and because of that it is still a very dangerous storm. >> the fact that it is now a category 1, could it be upgraded back to a category 2 or category 3? can it get stronger now? >> hurricanes do have a tendency to fluctuate in intensity, and there is a possibility it could strengthen a little bit before it reaches north carolina. after it begins to interact with the land we expect it to weaken. >> what is the national hurricane center projection now. i saw about 45 minutes ago or so it was about 60 miles or so off the coast of north carolina. what is the latest? >> right now it is -- as of our last official advisory, it is still 60 miles off the coast. however, it is moving closer. i expect we will be updating that in the next 10 minutes. >> well, we will be watching for that. david, explain to people -- i know i am always curious when i hear about these different

models that you experts use to try to project where the hurricane is headed. why are there different models that could affect the direction this hurricane takes? >> well, there is a number of different types of models. the best guidance i have for track are dynamical models. you are taking the governing motion in the atmosphere and you integrate it forward over time to get a forecast. the idea is that the hurricane is steered by the environment flow. if you have a model that can predict the flow, you can predict the path of the hurricane as it follows along. >> and the speed of the hurricane is also something that a lot of people are going to be paying attention to because that really could have an affect on the amount of rainfall that comes and hits certain areas, flooding we have been told that will be a major problem in someplaces.

is this hurricane moving quickly or slowly compared to other storms? >> compared to the many storms that impacted the atlantic and the northeast in the past, it is moving somewhat slowly. for a hurricane it is not moving particularly slowly. >> talk to us also about storm surge. it is something that -- a lot of us in this part of the country, we are not used to this kind of thing. the evacuations that have been ordered in lower manhattan and along areas of the jersey shore, people are not used to this kind of potential. -- potential destruction. what should we expect? >> right now we are looking at a storm surge of anywhere from four to eight feet from the north carolina and northern border up through the southern parts of new england. 1k3* even as the storm has become slightly weaker, one of the driving forces behind the surge is the extent of the

winds. and because this is such a large storm that's why you see such a high storm surge prediction. >> and once it passes through and it starts coming through the new york city area and then heads into new england, it looks like the path i have seen projected really has it moving more inland. is that right? >> that's right. we do expect it to move farther inland once it reaches the new york area. >> david zalinsky is live where they are expecting to release a new update in a couple minutes from now. we will have that for you here on fox. david, good work down there. thanks for the information. >> my pleasure. >> and we want to hear from you. are you riding out the storm? are you racing out of town 1234* do you have a plan? do you have any questions about what to do next? you can send us your thoughts. you can tweet me directly and you can tweet maria malina.

. ansley is on facebook and looking at your comments as well. you posted some pictures? >> i posted pictures of the water and everybody is commenting like, where is the beer? we need serious comments. we are hearing zip lock bags and medications. if you are on medications get enough jie. have no beer? >> have i that covered too. >> we have an update coming up from the national hurricane center. we will have it for and you we are live here on fox newschannel as hurricane irene heads toward north carolina. we will be right back.