>> welcome back, everybody. the winds are 80 miles per hour. the rain is causing major flooding and nearly 2 million homes have lost power, as hurricane irene thrashes up it is east coast. good morning, everybody. 3:00 new york time. >> 3:00 a.m., this morning. we have been on for an hour, where hurricane irene is taking aim. times square usually seen packed with people on new year's eve. now the city is hunkering down after a warning from new york city a mayor michael bloomberg. me gave a stern warning for residents to remain indoors.

right now, the national weather service has clocked a wind gust at jfk airport, saying it is 58 miles per hour now. we have live team coverage, following the storm's path. we gone with maria molina, live in the fox weather center. >> that's right. the winds are reported across the new york city area, tropical storm-force, that's out of jfk airport. that's the case, basically, along a big chunk of the in other eastern united states, where we will continue to see as the storm system moves northward. as of the last update, i do want to point out that doug mcelway pointed out out of ocean city, maryland, where he is not experience experiencing hurricane-force winds. most of the winds from the national hurricane center are east of the storm system. so that's very good news for area where is we will see the center of circulation tracking closely. jersey, you will be on the better side of the storm, without the stronger winds, but a very large storm system and

the tropical storm-force winds do extend over hundred miles out from the center of the storm. of course, we have been talking about the tornado threat. there have been threats of tornados in delaware. one caused damage to several homes and there is a tornado watch in new york city, long island and in jersey. i want to bring you up to speed on one tornado warning where there could be a tornado on the ground, the storm is moving west at 30 miles per hour, including mercer, monmouth and ocean count necentral new jersey. and this storm did move through the six flags theme park at 2:45 eastern time and is moving in allentown and will be in windsor by 3:00 a.m., so heads up if you live there. a lot of moisture with the storm system. we have reports of more than 14 inches of rain across eastern north carolina, from the storm. these rain events last about 24 hours, so it's a relatively

slow-moving storm system. we are expecting more additional rainfall throughout the next 48 hours, across portions of new england. and the rain will continue to track northward across canada where we do have tropical storm warnings from irene. hurricane irene's hurricane, moving north-northeast at 17 miles per hour. and as of the last seasry, there is a 3.5-foot storm surge in the new york harbor. so we are already looking at a storm surge in new york. unfortunately that, could get worse as the storm system does continue to track northward and landfall expected across western long island or new york city, coming up, i would say, at 10:00 a.m. eastern time. 10:00 a.m. here or 11:00, so we will continue to monitor that. western long island could be looking at the center of circulation, where the hurricane-force winds are. if it holds its strength, it could be a 75-mile-per-hour sustained wind and still a

category 1 hurricane. by sunday, 8:00 p.m., we will be over new england, 65-mile-per-hour sustained winds and the storm will accelerate, weakening over portions of canada. by monday, sustained winds of 50 miles per hour, but significant and more rain headed northward. >> storm surge is a major story. i am glad you mentioned canada. we have somebody asking about halifax, nova scotia. you can send questions to all of us. we want to you weigh in on this. tweet maria@foxmariamolina. i have a facebook wall as does ainsley earhardt. tell what did you say is happening where you are. maybe we will read the comments later on, on the air. >> let's go to virginia beach. hey, eligz liz beth, what does it look like there? >> reporter: good morning. it is a different morning than it was yesterday. although it's breezy. we are experiencing wind gusts

here in coastal areas. up to 55 miles per hour. and when people wake up this morning, authorities are worried that maybe they will feel bold because it's going to be beautiful and we will experience sunshine and nice weather. but the fact of the matter is that we did experience an extreme storm surge here. when the eye of the hurricane came in early evening last night, the high -- the tide was high. so we saw about 8 feet of storm surge on top of that. about preliminary reports of 6 to 8 inches of rain, which is why there is more than 100 road closures in the area. so authority its don't want people getting up and getting in their cars and they don't want people in the water because at one point, these waves were up to 24 feet high. so there is still a very heavy current out there, very, very strong. we did experience, unfortunately, three deaths here in virginia. one of them in sand bridge, 5 miles south of here. that's a low-lying area with

beautiful homes, a popular tourism destination area. unfortunately, they will probably see a lot of damage from the storm surge. they were the first to be evacuated. so as the sun starts to come up this morning, we will certainly have a better gauge of the damage here in virginia beach and along the coast of virginia. right now, we are hearing reports of a lot of superficial damage. i have a piece of stucco here. signs are down. but we haven't had a lot of reports of broken windows and things of that nature. everyone boarded up as the storm started to get closer. hopefully, we will be fairing better rather than worse. three deaths here in the state of virginia. but it looks like we may have survived hurricane irene. a lot of power outages still in virginia. more than a million people out of power and officials are working as hard as they can to get people power back. >> you are on the other end of the storm. up here in new york, we haven't

really seen it yet. what a difference a day makes. friday morning on fox and friends, your hair was down, you were dry. yesterday morning, a different story. you were pelted by the rain and today, it's dry. quite a difference. >> reporter: right. we obviously wish you the best. words of encouragement that yes, when the storm does hit, i mean, we were all through it, it was a long night. you can't expect to get a lot of sleep. but you will be experiencing it during the day. it does seem fairly scary. the winds are powerful. mother nature is a force to be reckoned with. you certainly underestimate her power unless you live through t. but like i said, people were pri prepared here. a lot of people bunkered down. we were surprised to see the curiosity-seekers along the water's edge. authorities were not happy about that. we saw a number of people taken off the beaches yesterday.

and in the evening, around 6:30, i saw a family out in the water. i was a little surprised that people were being so bold. i think that it should be taken seriously. we did have a tornado not far from here that did result in a death. so by all means, take it very seriously, but you will get through. >> it i am glad you are saying that. people are saying, hey, this is not serious, it's a category 1. nine people have died as a result. so it is something to be taken seriously here at fox. and for the northeast, who haven't experienced something like this or on a regular basis, we are all scared. we need to know how it react thto this. so thanks, elizabeth, that was a good point. >> reporter: why not rather be safe than sorry? >> we are talking about lives here. i agree. thanks. have a good one. opening shelters for evacees, the red cross has stepped n. joining us over the phone to talk about their ongoing efforts is bridgette williams. thank you for talking with us. you probably haven't had any

sleep. tell what did you say the red cross is doing to help out the folk who is have been hit by this storm and to prepare those who haven't seen it yet? >> caller: we have opened more than 100 shelters along the east coast. last night, we had more than 13,000 residents stay in our shelters. that number will ton fluctuate as irene moves up the east coast. this is one of the largest responses that the red cross has had. we have more than 200 mobile feeding units that are prepositioned along the east coast to take care of the needs of the guests as hurricane irene continues to make her presence felt. >> well, you know, are you seeing the numbers rise, the number of people at the shelters? i know, decades ago, people didn't really venture out, they stayed at their homes are they didn't work all over the country. now i know from living in new york, i don't have family here. do you have a lot -- are the shelters filling up more and more as individuals are not necessarily living in their home

states? >> caller: it just varies from location to location. one of our shelters tonight in massachusetts has a football team in it. they were a at football camp. their coach had the awareness of what was coming and decided to move his boys from the camp to one of our shelters for safety. being high school kids, as one of the boys told me, this was icing on the cake, to his camp. none of them have ever experienced a hurricane. but we were really please that the coach obviously was concerned as he said, he treats them just like his own kids. he wanted them to be as safe and secure as they can be. >> i bet their parents are so worried. where was that? >> caller: weer cape cod. we had 52 football players in one of our shelters tonight. >> people are asking on facebook, i had one question -- what does it look like in cape cod? >> caller: right now, we have had light bands of rain come

through. we won't feel the brunt of our rain until close to lunch time today. >> you are surround by water. it's beautiful. but there is a lot of water. >> caller: and it's pretty foggy. >> how are residents reacting? were there mandatory evacuations? >> caller: there were. people have heeded the warnings. we were out and about and had numerous business owners tell us how the streets would normally be packed with tourists, obviously on this weekend. and there were very few people out. a lot of businesses are boarding up. so people are taking irene seriously. >> okay. if folks want to donate or volunteer, go to your web site? >> caller: redcross.orgglowf. .com. you can find out how to take

care of yourself, as well as make a donation. >> 13,000 people in your shelters. what would we do without the red cross? thank you. caller: thank you. >> the governor of new york, andrew cuomo has declared a state of emergency, as hurricane irene barrels up the east coast, killing at least nine people so far. and hours ago, new york city mayor michael bloomberg addressed the people of new york city. >> the edge of the hurricane is finally come upon us and conditions are expected to deteriorate rapidly. according to the national weather service, tropical winds can be expected from this point forward. a tornado watch, just to make life more complex, is in effect until 5:00 a.m. in the five boroughs and in nassau, suffolk, westchester and rockland counties. hopefully, that won't happen. but there is the potential. combined, i think it's fair to say that these conditions make it unsafe to stay outside. let me repeat that.

the time for evacuation is over. everyone should now go inside and be prepared to stay inside until weather conditions improve, which won't likely be until sunday afternoon. but we will get through this next 24 hours, i assure you. the city has taken exhaustive steps to prepare for whatever comes our way and the very best first responders are going to work nonstop through the night to make sure we get through this night as safely as possible. i am joined by our fire commissioner, police commissioner ray kelly and office of emergency management commissioner joe bruno. we have prepared for this. we have worked very hard. we have warned the public. now we have to deal with what comes from mother nature. your safety, your own safety is dependent on what you do. new yorkers, you now remain indoors and take the following steps.

first, move away as far as possible from glass windows. there is a risk that flying debris could break and shatter windows in your home. the risk increases if you live in a high rise, particularly on the 10th floor or higher. don't stay in the first floor of your building lobby and stand and congregated area and glass imposed lobby. make sure windows and doors leading to the outside are closed. if you have a fireplace in your home, close the damper. turn off any propane tanks and move to a room with as few windows as possible and ride out the storm there. >> advice per people in the new york city and metropolitan area. we know a lot of you are in other parts of the country, asking about maryland, washington, d.c., connecticut, up into new england, new jersey and philly as l. we have it all covered for you. we will try to answer as many questions as we can. we are live all night long and we will be back with the latest on irene's path and how the government is responding to this

natural disaster, summer of 2011. it seems like one after another. we'll be right back. 80

miles per hour in the storm system, tracking along the coast of jersey. the worst of the rain is staying onshore, so that's bad news. we are seeing heavy rain bands as albabba new york, central pennsylvania. that's the shading in yellow and the orange that you see here on

the radar. of course, that risk for tornadoes, there is a tornado watch still for new york city, long island and eastern jersey and in effect until 5:00 a.m. local time. but take a look at the rain. jersey looking at it, baltimore and d.c. it was hours ago that we were reporting flooding and that rain is stretching northward to new england, across connecticut and portions of massachusetts. right now, fortunately, no tornado warnings in effect, as they come out, we will update you right away. we have a number of flood advisories stretching up into maine and the flashflood warnings where we are looking at the worst flooding in portions of western connecticut and eastern new york, down in through new jersey, philadelphia and atlantic city and delaware as well in a flashflood warning. the storm system is a category 1 hurricane. it's still a hurricane. so it's held together very well. there is dry air to the south of the storms, but don't be fooled.

if you get dryer weather, or it sounds quieter in your area and have you not been told that you can go outside, do not do so. i'm expectingly -- i'm expecting landfall in long island, 11:00 a.m. local time. tell continue over vermont and new hampshire, sustained winds still at 65 miles per hour. so the storm system is really holding together. that's the forecast. >> thank you, maria. >> let's check in on the federal government's response to the storm so far and what's ahead. kelly wright is in washington, d.c. with the latest on fema and the other federal agencies and how they are coordinating efforts today and the next couple of days. >> reporter: hey, rick. good morning to you. the and the fema want to be prepared for this one. so the word right now is preparation, getting the coordination. president obama is being kept up to date overnight about irene

throughout the night, from fema and his aides and during a meeting with fema, the president said, it's going to be a tough slog for the cities and states living in irene's fath path. he is certainly right about that. he visited fema's command center early on sunday to get a regional update on the plans for federal emergency response to irene. the president telling his staff at that time that fema was doing a very good job, but he still had some concerns. >> what we heard, the biggest concern right now is dealing with flooding and power. it sounds like that's going to be an enormous strain on a lot of states and that may take days, even lopinger nsome cases, todepending on what the track of the storm is going to do. so we are really going to have to stay on top of the recovery, and the response and recovery phase of this thing. >> fema is prepared to provide states and cities with all the help they will need to respond

and recover from irene. homeland security secretary janet napolitano urging everyone to realize that hurricane irene remains a large and dangerous storm and people should prepare for it. >> some of our states are now in -- moving into the response mode. but other states, as you are further north are still in preparation mode. so if you receive a warning to evacuate, please do so. even if you haven't received a warning during a storm, please stay inside. quote, hunker down until the storm passes. stay off the roads until the roads can be cleared. >> so far, since hurricane irene began making landfall, nearly 1. 5 power outages have been reported across fouritates and that's expected to rise, adding to the power outages, there will be a need for shelter for those recovering from the storm. the american red cross will be

working with fema to help the people in need. >> we have two-thirds of our police either on the east coast or head toaght east coast, these are emergency response vehicles. this is going to last a long time. so the vehicles will be there to go through the communities, offering food, relief items, hygiene kits and the like. we have tens of thousands of prepackaged meals on site. we are able to be able to feed about a million meals a day. >> and you are hearing it stated from the president of the red cross and people a. this is going to be a lock slog. 72 hours of difficulty. so the president is continuing to follow the developments. he had an evening conference call with vice-president biden, fema's administrator and other top aides. he told the group he wants to meet again this sunday morning and get an update on how to proceed. rick? >> kelly wright for us in

washington. thanks very much. we have been focusing our attention on the jersey coast. atlantic city is a ghosttown on saturday night at the end of august, which is not usually the case. let's check with rick leventhal near the casinos. what's the latest there? >> reporter: well, it's raining here, still. wins not significant. this is the first mandatory evacuation of atlantic city in its history. and earlier, this evening tappeared it was a wise decision because the streets were flooding, especially the side streets and the weather was very, very rough and it looked incredibly dangerous on the roads. since then, it's calmed down significantly. fortunately for the police who are patrolling pacific avenue here, very few people out. they don't have a lot to worry about. they didn't have a lot of 911 calls because most of the people did heed the evacuation orders,

but at this point, it appears -- i know the storm is not completely passed, but it does appear as if atlantic city has dodged the worst and the predictions that it might exceed a record storm surge here is not the case. they are not at high tide. there could be more coastal flooding and problems, not just in atlantic city but in the other communities up and down the new jersey shoreline. but right now, thix look pretty good and it's very, very quiet here. you mentioned, saturday night, the last weekend in august, the last weekend before labor day, this would be packed. caesar's and all the casinos here would be full. they were at 98% occupancy in the summer. but this weekend, all guest his to leave. all the casinos shut down, millions of dollars in revenue lost because of the approaching storm. weather not that bad right now. we do expect high tide at 7:00 a.m., they were telling us,

that's when the storm surge would be at its highest. so we may see more flooding around that time. >> that's just great news for the folks in atlantic city. hopefully, that will be the case in other cities. ramping back up, have you heard eye know you talk to the officials down there -- some casino officials and other folks in south jersey. is there any word on how long tell take them to restaff and open up the casinos again? there is labor day weekend coming up? >> absolutely. what i was told was, first of all, before the storm hit, they literally trucked the monoy out of here, loading it onto armored vehicles. so they have to get the money and bring it back in. they have to bring employees back here. they have to clean up and get approval from the gaming commission before they open up the tables. it's a process that will take at least 12 hours, once the storm passes. so theoretically, it's possible

that by sunday night, the casinos could be open. more likely, sometime on monday they will be back in business. >> if you are down there and stuff starts opening up, check out white house subs. you may know of it-- >> reporter: we had lunch there earlier. >> good stuff. >> reporter: we had lunch on saturday. >> excellent. thank you very much. glad a.c. dodged a bullet. >> we will talk live with an expert at accu-weather and give you the latest on irene's strength. will this remain a cat 1? stay with us. 

>> well, there is a company called core logic that does data analysis. they estimate more than 80,000 homes in new york city and long island are vulnerable to damage from a storm surge if irene remains category 1 hurricane. it is threatening more than 1 million properties along the atlantic coast. a spokesman for core logic is on

the phone. obviously, first and foremost, scott, is concern about the loss of life. but loss of property is something that is important as l. how do you come up with the numbers? >> caller: well, what we do is we have properties with specific information for most of the metros up and down the east coast. and we have our scientists that put together some storm surge models and they have models for different areas on the east coast. and they determine what the different categories of storm, what the storm surge would look like when it comes onshore and then we compare that to the amount of properties and the value of the properties to come up with the amount of possible exposure, based on the level of the storm. >> so if irene stays a category 1, your analysis is that the potential damage in the new york metro area could be $35 billion.

is that right? >> caller: that's correct. that would be the total maximum exposure for the residential structures in the area that could be affected by a category 1. >> how does that rank? how would that rate against other storms that have hit this particular area? >> caller: well, i think that, obviously... it's been a very long time since there have been storms that have hit the east coast in that particular, near the new york city area. but, you know, luckily the storm has moved to category 1. and it's weakening a little bit. i would still expect that it would be, if the storm surge hits and it's a direct hit and the storm surge comes into the city, it's going to be a very damaging and expensive storm to the city. >> part of the problem, i would imagine, scott, is because this is a part of the countryj that

is not used to these kinds of storms and destruction. so a lot of these residential homes, a lot of homeowners might not have the kind of insurance that they need, the coverage they need to file claims to rebuild? , that's exactly right. there are some areas, obviously on the gulf coast that see more hurricanes on a yearly basis. but on the east coast, obviously, there is a lot less storms. i think you can see that people are maybe less prepared. and don't necessarily have the flood insurance that will be needed to help them take care of any damages after the storm comes through. >> we are going to have significant damages and we have to wait and see exactly whether they come close to the amount that you have estimated. but against again, scott little, a spokesman for core logic, a data analysis company,

estimating losses of $35 billion in the new york metro area alone to rez decialt properties. scott, thank you very much for your time. caller: thank you. have a good night. >> if you and your neighbors dodged a bullet this time, consider yourself fortunate. but that's not always the case. mother nature can come in and strike with a vengeance. in fact, northeast storms of the past have wiped out stay, taking lives and causing a fortune in damage. geraldo rivera has a look at the worst in history. >> hurricane irene is bad, but it can't compare with the monsters to tear across the eastern seaboard. >> a west indzian hurricane slashes the coast and a huge tidal wave rolled in with this hundred-mile-per-hour crash. the great new england hurricane, a category 5 slammed into long island with little warning. >> there have been five days of rain when the hurricane blew, accompanied by a tremendous

downpour. and the riff in massachusetts, streams turned into torrents, flood damage everywhere. >> the first major storm to hit the area in 69 years. it then crossed into connecticut and massachusetts. crushing and drowning almost everything in its path. >> the hurricane hit towns never built to withstand the blast of a tropical trant tantrum n. southern lands, they build for hurricane, but whoever expected the wind demon of the west indies would strike so far north. >> as many as 800 were killed. more than 57,000 homes destroyed by the most powerful, costliest, deadliest storm in recorded new england history. 16 years later, hazel came close, packing winds of 140 miles per hour on october 15, 19,r 54, making landfall in the border, after leaving hundreds dead, a full moon contributed to

a 17-foot storm surge that swept away 352 to 357 structures on oak island. then the storm cut a swath through virginia, pennsylvania, new jersey, new york and on all the way to ontario, canada. it would be 31 years until the next really big one. hurricane gloria, a cat 4 when it hit the bahamas. significantly weakened by the time she reached the united states, she packed enough punch to down trees and power lines from cape hatteras to long island, 8 people died. much lower than feared because the hurricane arrived at low tide. then bob in 1991. which made landfall between new york and rhode island narragansett bay. thousands packed shelters. yet others refused to leave. >> it's better to be here and take care of the house if

anything happens. >> a decision many came to regret. >> virtually all the beach-front businesses and homes suffered water or structural damage. >> bob left massive destruction. >> we have sent a written request to the federal authorities and the head of fema will be in the state this afternoon. >> 17 were killed. $1.5 billion in property damage suffered. in 1999, hurricane floyd forced 2.6 million people in five states from their homes. triggering the third largest evacuation in u.s. history. but it was north carolina that bore the brunt of the storm. >> just water. nothing but water. >> i saw even the roofs were under the water in the last safe refuge was standing on the chimney. >> torrential rainfall hit north carolina, an area already saturated by hurricane dennis, just two weeks before, bricking what was called a 500-year flood. >> a lot of people still

hurting. many people lost their life. i don't know that you will ever fully recover from something like floyd. >> now, it's good night irene. all the way up the shore, past d.c., up the jersey shore, all around the new york city metropolitan area, with its 28 million people -- long islands, look out. not one to mess with. >> all right. thanks very much for that report. >> wnyw, in manhattan beach, dick, good to see you. how are you doing? >> reporter: good to see you, maybe not under these circumstances, rick. i can tell you right now, in the last hour or so, it's gotten very intense here. the bands of rain are probably the heaviest we have seen and the wind is kicking up at the same time. we are told within the next hour, the wind will really start to get going. this is really not starting to get going. we are in manhattan beach, near coney island area.

coby island is a peninsula. but everyone here was supposed to have evacuated. truth is tlooks to me like most people didn't. they thought they were going to ride this thing out. so far at least, everything is okay, except the wind and the rain. there are few power outages, nothing terrible. but in general, what they are worried about here and not just here on coney island, but in the low-lying areas of new york city, that there will be a storm surge, mean that this water will come forward perhaps anywhere from 5 to 10 feet and that could theoretically in a category 1 hurricane, inundate this area where we are standing. that's the next fear. whether or not that happens here or just in low-lying areas. in new york city, it has 518 miles of coast. that's because of the three islands of the city and the many inlets. so 518 miles of contact points and we happen to be in one of them. >> i saw the evacuation from

coney island hospital. so some evacuations have taken place. apparently, they went smoothly. the folk who is have stayed behind, what have they told you ythey did it? >> reporter: it's the old story. they say, here, i have lived here "x" number of years. it's legitimate. there hasn't been a hurricane that hit directly on new york city about 180 years. so this would be historic. in fact, at least the storm track right now is 20 miles east of new york city. and in fact, we are probably going to get only -- here's some of them -- tropical-style winds. so they may have a point in the sense that as long as we don't get the surge, as long as the water doesn't flow through, they should be okay. a lot of people have a false sense of security in high-rises and the mayor has been trying to explain it the last couple of days. just because you are in a high rise, the power could go out and

first responders have to get anybody with a medical emergency, they valid -- they valid a problem. >> the power goes out, the elevators don't work and some of those elderly people will are a hard time going up and down the steps. >> reporter: exactly. just -- it's bad enough. we had a story here a couple of hours ago, a couple of kids in staten island went out in a kayak. smart going, right? what happened? they got caught in the waves. nypd and fire had to respond and a couple of really brave cop his to rescue these kids. that's the problem. it's all well and good to say you are going to stick around. but it's all possible that a firefighter or ems person will have to put their life at risk to rescue you. we hope that isn't the case. at least so far, everybody's good with it, with the exception of a few power outages. that will be the next story in the storms, when the hurricanes come through and the power goes

out. >> dick brennan in new york, thanks very much. >> be safe. >> hurricane irene packing 80-mile-per-hour winds, making its way up to the northeast. we will have a live report from brooklyn, new york, another one. we just had one from dick. we will tell you the latest wind speeds at jfk. stay with us. service was very moving, wasn't it?

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about a plan that meets your needs. they're waiting to hear from you, so call now. i've put this off long enough. i'm definitely gonna call about the colonial penn program. >> welcome back, everybody, a live look at sixth avenue in midtown manhattan. that's the outside of our building here, 48th street and avenue of the americas. here's what the a.p. has in their latest write-thru on the storm and new york city. for once, it says, this was a city that slept. and as you can see, the city that never sleeps is awfully quiet tonight. folks staying home, very wisely, out of the rain and the heavy winds that are beginning to make

their way to the new york city metropolitan area. we have heard about some storm surges in lower manhattan. we have the very latest for you coming up. we are live, right here on fox. >> notice, many people are asking, will hurricane irene remain a category 1 hurricane as it's barreling up the east coast? we will ask an expert, valerie smock with the accu-weather in state college, pennsylvania. hey, valerie? >> reporter: good morning. yeah, it looks like the storm will be a category 1 as of now. but as we continue into the next couple of days, this is obviously going to lessen. as we are looking now, very big band of rain. now, there is no convection on the east side of the storm. so you can see, there is not much upon an eye. but the area of circulation is continuing to move northward. the rain is definitely coming down inland, where the convection is coming in the form of rain. now, we are looking at a tornado watch. that's not helping. we have a tornado watch until 5:00 a.m. eastern standard time

affecting new jersey, connecticut, delaware, dismoark long island. so this is making it worse. the storms are going to continue to move north. new york city, you may look like you have a break in the rain, don't let your guard down because we will continue to see more rain coming in. in fact, we had seen almost 10 inches of rain into the air force baze base as the storm continues to move up. it will definitely continue to stay strong. >> what about the high rises for folks in new york in the high rises? >> reporter: that's definitely not something that you need to -- i guess, you don't need to stay there. you need to be finding shelter. at this point, if you have not -- high rise is not the place topto be, so you think you are high, out of the flood zone. you are not. you need to get down. if there is a power outage, people will have a tough time getting to you. >> we have been talking to aren'ts all over the northeast, many saying, it is just raining, but there are mandatory evacuations. is that a smart move? >> reporter: definitely a smart move. with the strong winds, the rain

has saturated the ground. so this is something where power outages are going to happen, trees are going to be knocking down. it's a tough time to get to people. transportation, communication definitely going to be compromised. >> all right. thanks, valerie. >> also, we are bracing for winds that are moving through the area. we have the latest on the storm and what it means to you when we come right back, here on fox newschannel. don't go away. you know that comes with a private island. really? no. it comes with a hat. you see, airline credit cards promise flights for 25,00miles, but... [ man ] there's never any seats for ,000 miles. frustrating, isn't it? but that won't happen with the capital one venture card. you can book any airline anytime. hey, i just said that. after all, isn't traveling hard enough? ow. [ male announcer ] to get the flights you want, sign up for a venture card at capitalone.com. what's in your wallet? uh, it's okay. i've played a pilot before. would in your wallet? you go next if you had a

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>> maria molina is in the fox news extreme weather center with a tweet from a viewer and where it is hitting hardest. >> what time tell be hitting hard nest queens and nassau counties? from nikki fruits off twitter. we are starting to see some of the worst of it, across nassau count wea 61-mile-per-hour wind gust at 1:35 a.m. so conditions are likely getting worse as the center of the storm system creeps into the new york city area. we are expecting landfall across western long islands or new york city, possibly over qeeps as well,ed heading into 10:00 a.m. local time. so during the later morning hours of your sunday, of course, the winds will continue to increase as the storm system does approach the area and there

are a tornado watch in effect for the region, so that's something we are going to keep an eye out. i just saw a glimpse of a possible tornado warning in nassau county. so i will update ow that at the top of the hour. >> we look forward to that. thanks, mar yai. we got word of another tornado warning. we will be following that, of course and the latest on the track of the storm, as folks are writing in with their tweets and messages, wanting to know about what's happening. we are hearing about a lot of wind now in brooklyn and lower manhattan. the national weather service is saying 58-mile-per-hour wind gust measured at new york city's jfk airport as irene gets closer to that particular area. and we have another one that, 48 knots in sheeps head bay in brook brooklyn. irene's coming. we'll be right back.