good morning, everybody. happy fourth of july. look at this. hurricane arthur made landfall overnight along north carolina's outer banks forcing thousands to retreat inland on this holiday weekend. the category 2 storm has been gaining strength as it moves northward packing 100-mile-per-hour winds along with the threat of extensive flooding, dangerous surf and power outages. arthur has even put a damper on fourth of july celebrations up and down the east coast forcing boston to move up its annual

pops concert and fireworks to last night. now for the latest on hurricane arthur, it is a category 2 storm with winds as high as 100 miles an hour. the storm made landfall just before midnight near the southern end of the outer banks. the eye of the storm crossed just south of kill devil hills right over nags head. it's expected to pass east of new england later tonight. now mandatory evacuations have been ordered for two counties along the east coast, including hatteras island. a curfew is in place for kill devil hills, pine noel shores and nags head. heavy winds and strong rain have brought down trees and knocked out power to 21,000 people. tornado watches had been in place for north carolina but those have been canceled. the governor of north carolina said last night that he is worried about coastal damage and inland flooding. >> we really might not know how extensive the damage might be

until midmorning or even later based upon what the conditions might be. >> so let's find out where hurricane arthur is at this very moment. meteorologist bill karins is tracking this storm. good morning. what are you seeing? >> good morning. and happy fourth of july. the storm itself made a six-hour journey over the outer banks of north carolina. it's now exiting into the open atlantic. whatever damage has been done, probably about 80% of that damage has already occurred. we're still probably get something sound side flooding as the storm exits the wind direction shifts and the water from the sound is coming back towards the outer banks and that will do some damage. new update still has it as a very strong storm. looks impressive thane satellite imagery. the back side is cutting off quickly. the sun will be out this morning in areas like wilmington who last night were dealing with this storm. midmorning until noon, the sun will start coming out in north

carolina. the storm is quickly heading out. that's good for all the people that did hunker don last night. it's not going to be a long period of sitting in your house waiting for the storm to end. as far as stats on the storm, it's moving at 23 miles per hour. so it's quickly heading out to sea. winds are still at 100 miles per hour. we haven't seen too many gusts that strong as it made its journey through the outer banks. i saw a couple in the 90-mile-per-hour range. it's categoried category 2 hurricane still. pressure at 973 and 70 miles south-southeast of virginia beach. the big thing is it's moving quickly away. no changes in the last update with the hurricane warnings, tropical storm warnings. from the delaware/maryland border, tropical storm warnings. all the beautiful beaches around maryland and hurricane warnings for all of coastal north carolina. i imagine midmorning or 11:00asm m., a lot of those will be dropped as the storm quickly exits. as far as the winds go, hurricane-force winds in red. it's a really small area.

and a lot of those hurricane-force winds are now leaving the coast. that's why i mentioned what damage has been done by the winds has probably already occurred. as we go throughout the rest of the morning, this will exit. wind gusts over the last 20 minutes, hatteras, about 50. where the storm was pretty bad last night, the winds are now very light for those wind gusts. power crews will quickly get into these regions and return power to the areas that did lose it. at the last update, only about 20,000 people had lost power because of this storm fop give you some perspective, we had about 150,000 in pennsylvania, and new jersey because of the thunderstorms last night. so the winds have not caused a lot of disruptions to the power grid. as far as the forecast track from the hurricane center it takes it parallel to the coast line but not near new jersey or new york city or even new england. the only areas that still at a little bit of risk of winds later today into tonight as we go through nantucket, martha's

vineyard, extreme cape cod. you'll got heavy rain from this. then it goes into nova scotia. throughout saturday morning into the afternoon, still a strong storm. nova scotia, the damage there may be worse than the outer bankss because they aren't quite as prepared for storms like this out there. >> a lot still to come with this storm. >> the big update i'm going to give you at the bottom of the hour is the amount of rain and time that out for your fourth of july plans in new england. you'll still get rain from this storm. i'll help you plan the rest of your day. hurricane arthur forced thousands of vacationers to flee north carolina's coastal areas. giant waves, heavy rain and strong winds are battering the state's popular and flood-prone outer banks. the 200-mile string of narrow barrier islands is home to permanent residents as well. sarah dallof is live in the outer banks where the wind is fierce right now. how are you holding it down

there in all that wind? >> believe it or not it could be a lot worse. here at kill devil hills we've only seen winds of up to 60 to 70 miles an hour. about 30 minutes south from here, however, winds of more than 100 miles an hour. so relatively mild here if you can believe it. you know, we've been promising hurricane arthur for the past 24 hours. and just after midnight it delivered, pounding the outer banks here. we got about 20,000 people without power. believe it or not, we've got a couple people out on the beach. i'll leave it up to you to make your own judgment on that one. but for now, minor damage so far. we're seeing the wind bend something signs. we're seeing some shingles off the roof but not a lot of -- no corrugated metal, things like that. more fierce storms. you have crews standing by with heavy equipment so after the hurricane clears they can get to work removing sand and removing washover. right now, as i said, about

20,000 without power. here we still have that and water. i've been talking to people who have lived through several of these hurricanes. they say this one, pretty mild but they've definitely seen worse and they are prepared for whatever comes our way. we have three to four more hours of winds and conditions like this before it starts to lift, before it turns into a breezy day. all in all, we're expecting about 250,000 people here on the outer banks. we're told about 35,000 evacuated. some mandatory. some of those voluntary evacuations. but people not quite ready to give up on their dream of a fourth of july beach vacation. right now that beach vacation has turned into a beach nightmare, but hopefully once they ride that storm through they can enjoy the rest of the weekend. as far now, three to four more hours of these conditions before they lift. back to you. >> i've got to say, watching that guy walk past you just a minute ago.

how many people are throughout? is that just one guy out of many who decided to do the right thing and get out of the storm? >> that is a small group of about four guys i've seen out here. they've actually been in the water, which is a huge concern of officials. they are saying there's a real dangerous riptide out of there that just sucks you in and it's got you before you know it. so they've really cautioned people to stay out of the water. the majority of people, besides this small group of young guys on the beach, they are staying inside and staying safe. >> that's where they need to be. and are you seeing a lot of people, as you've talked to them, are they trying stay there, hunker down and brace through this, or did you talk to a lot of people who just said we're not even going to deal with it. we're out of town for this? >> we are in kill devil hills. we were never under an evacuation order. a lot of people took that to mean go ahead and it's safe to hunker down. stores were reporting seeing a run on plies. you know, things like batteries and lanterns in case we lost

power. if you were inside and you were -- if you were in an interior room really shielded. my hotel room is really quite shielded. they picked a good room for me. you don't really hear the storm and know it's going on until you step in one of the front facing rooms. it may not be quite as bad as it appears from the outside. you may be tucked safe and sound in your bedroom right now dreaming with little idea of what's going on outside. >> what a difference 24 hours makes. when we spoke with you yesterday morning you could barely see any wind out there. and right now it seems to really be blowing all around. is this going to be the hardest part of it right now what we're seeing where the wind gusts are at the highest or do you expect it to get worse in the next couple of hours? >> we're not expecting it to get worse. we are expecting it to stay steady, like i said, for three to four hours. it's just going to be really steady. 60 to 70-mile-an-hour winds. i think we're a little under that right now. the worst part overnight it was.

however, about 30 miles south, they are getting hit real hard right now measuring within the last half hour winds of more than 100 miles an hour. >> all right. sere dallof, you stave say safe there in all that wind and rain. and that category 2 hurricane is threatening holiday plans up and down the east coast. right now, the storm is climbing north while the new york area should escape a direct hit, forecasters say high surf and dangerous riptides are expected. nbc's ron allen is live along long beach in new york. long island south shore that is. ron, are people there preparing for arthur? >> well, like you said, we don't think the hurricane is going to get that close here. the problem here has been last two nights. heavy, torrential downpours and thunderstorms, which were pretty loud and very powerful. amazing lightning strikes recorded by people over the past couple of nights.

as a result, things are really drenched. you look down at the boardwalk here, a new boardwalk because the previous one was destroyed by hurricane sandy. it's completely drenched. there are a few people out now. but later on what we expect here in this part of new york, if you look out in that direction you'll see the surf. and we expect a lot of surfers to come out here. this is surfer's paradise. of course, there's a concern about rip currents and dangerous tides and so forth. but again, this is the kind of weather that surfers like. and we'll see if the beaches get crowded. the forecast, i believe is for rain throughout the day tapering off before nightfall. we expect that most july 4th celebrations will get in the macy's celebration, the big one in new york city will go on rain or shine, whatever the weather, we understand. there have been a number of events canceled in communities like this. just trying stay cautious and play it safe. a lot of uncertainty with

hurricanes. you never know which way it's going to turn nepwinds are calm right now. temperatures in the 70s or so. more heavy rain forecast. we'll have to see how hard it hits. but, yeah, everybody is just trying to watch the weather, hopefully have a pleasant day, and the best news is that tomorrow and sunday, the forecast is exquisite weather. >> yes, it's a sunny outlook. but in the meantime, still that cone of uncertainty that we're all watching very closely. ron, thank you. and just ahead, whether you are in arthur's path, a flood zone, tornado alley or even earthquake territory, do you have what it takes to be prepared. see what folks in the thick of the storm are saying. richard lui shows us their reaction on social media next. you know that dream... on my count. ...the one where you step up and save the day? make it happen.

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welcome back, everybody. hurricane arthur is the very first named storm of the 2014 hurricane season. and it is making its presence felt along the north carolina coast as we speak. right now, maximum sustained winds are at 100 miles per hour making it a category 2 hurricane as it moves northeast along that coast. but tornado watches that had been in place have now been canceled. so that's a little bit of good news. even if you don't live in north carolina, though, this storm is a good reminder that we are at

the very beginning of hurricane season. so it's important for everyone along the eastern seaboard to be ready for a storm. if and when the time comes. for more on that, i'm joined by eaton edwards, executive director of the international preparedness network. thanks for being with us. >> thanks for having me. >> your mission is to keep us safe. what do we need to have in order to stay safe in any storm? >> people need to recognize they have to have a certain amount of equipment and information obviously to recognize what they need to do and what they need to have when the storms hit, after the storm hits and before the storm hits. people don't tong get emergency money like in small denominations. sometimes when the power outages come after the high winds, you want to have money in small denominations like 1s, 5s and 10s, not like 20s or 100s. >> can't break that, sorry. >> unless you want to buy a $100 loaf of bread.

the next thing is you want to have stuff like i see people running for batteries. every time the hurricane comes, people are running for batteries for their lights and flashlights. people have to get away from this notion that we still need these batteries for radios and such. the hand crank radios, solar radio combinations, lights like this. i'll give you an example. this is a flashlight. people need to carry personal kits. >> i'm really surprised how small that thing is. >> yeah, yeah. you think you need to carry a lot in terms of personal gear. the stuff you need to walk around with is about this size. >> what's in that? >> to give you an example, here's a solar flashlight. now that's a solar light. you can just hang that -- >> i see. >> and this is an l.e.d. solar light. and essentially you can charge this by just hanging it out of a window and then -- >> so you don't need a battery for it. >> batteries are a commodity you just can't find when an emergency strikes. and also, you know, people just like -- even if you need like a

little lighter, because oft oftentimes you might need to light something. >> a candle or something. >> and you don't have lighters like this. this is a great one. it's multipurpose lighter that you pop it out and inside you even have another little lighter that serves as the fuel. this is a regular lighter and then you can pop this together and it actually is a little torch lighter. >> what about a weather radio. i have one of those you crank up but to be honest with you, i haven't take ten out of the box. are these things i need to really kind of make sure i know how to operate before the storm comes? >> you have to have a radio. and you are more likely, it's best to have a crank radio or solar radio simply because the battery goes down you can't connect to the grid, you'll need to listen to reports. you have to stay abreast of all of the information. another thing is that people have to do stuff before. like you have -- do you have gas in your vehicle? if you don't have your vehicle topped off with the gas you may not be able to get any fuel. >> we had that problem during

hurricane sandy where people were in line for days trying to get gas. >> emergency water is another thing. that's one of the most important commodities you've got to have. oftentimes power goes down and the water purification plants don't work right. the bacterial count in the water gets high. you want water on standby. >> if you are late to the game and realize just now and you are feeling the effects of hurricane arthur and you don't have that case of bottled water, do you fill your bathtub? what are standard things people need to know? >> you can fill your bathtub and any receptacle you can put potable water in and so it. you also want extra things. you can have water purification filters that you can actual lly use that can purify water. let's say there were water purifcation plants and facilities that go down because the surge fills them with bad

water and sometimes they go down for stuff like that. you also have the emergency food because you can't go shopping. and oftentimes people kind of like -- >> people go for water and milk and bread. >> nonperishable food items. nonperishable. if you lose your power thn the perishable items go with the power. you want to be able to extend your ability to ride this out for over three days. they talk about the three-day rule. but oftentimes now because, you know, there's so many more people. you want to be able to kind of like really survive outside of like connecting yourself to something for a week. and that's, i think, 72 hours is a little bit low. >> what about commune sghags backup batteries? what if your power goes out? over 20,000 people right now without power. what are they doing at this moment or what should they have on hand? >> if anything, the radios will keep them connected in terms of information. the pertinent information for their counties. but people need to purchase -- they can have hand crank cell phone chargers.

sometimes you'll not be able to charge your cell phone. computers as well. strangely enough if the lines are down, you can't communicate you can also use computers. you have an adapter for your automobile you can plug it into your car and you have a constant charge for your car. computers can be used like skype. and that's something people don't tong do. >> you just have to be resourceful. >> you have to be clever sometimes to get around the situation. >> aton, thank you for all these great ideas an what we need to do in order to ride out a storm. so emergency officials in north carolina, they are scrambling with the fallout from hurricane arthur. plus, the disturbing new allegations of sexting and the dad charged with murder for leaving his toddler in a sweltering car. stay with us. your sacrifice and thank you for your bravery. thank you colonel. thank you daddy. military families are uniquely thankful for many things,

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ahhh! what is it? there are no marshmallows in this box of lucky charms! huh... weird... seriously? what? they're magically delicious what a lovely sight. the boston pops fourth of july

concert and fireworks show took place last night. the festivities were held a day early, thanks to concern over hurricane arthur. thousands turned out, though, for the show, which, according to the "boston globe" lasted about 20 minutes. right after the fireworks ended, police ordered an evacuation of the area. heavy rain began falling just a little bit later. some other stories this morning -- a judge denied bail for the georgia dad accused of killing his 22-month-old son by leaving him in a hot suv for hours. police say justin ross harris sent nude photographs to women that day, was sexting them and wanted a, quote, child-free life. the defense insists there is no evidence the death was intentional. and while the east coast gets just battered by rain and wind out west, two other weather events are causing significant disruptions. first, a gigantic dust storm barreled through central arizona. look at these pictures. all flights at phoenix's main airport were grounded or

diverted, obviously, until that whole thing passed. but the remnants, though, could make it hard to see the fireworks tonight. and out in california, the napa fire is still burning through rugged terrain. reinforcement crews arrived to help. flames had scorched more than 6 1/2 square miles. but let's get back to hurricane arthur. it's happening at this moment. it's flooded the world of social media as well. richard lui joins me with what people are saying at this hour. i can only imagine the different types of video and pictures they are posting. >> it's really not only just this hour, here, betty. good morning to you. it's also what happened yesterday. let me take you back to 11:15 p.m. that's about five, six hours ago, when the center of arthur hit landfall. justin kissenberry, a reporter from our affiliate there in morehead city. this is the video at the coast. you can see the waves come onshore here as he's watching the degradation not only of the

port area but the sand and the area that's south and north of where he was. 67,000 times this has been played so far. again, that is where the eye appeared to hit landfall. also want to show you this from the wolfpack at the university of north carolina state. wolfpack weather posted these videos. these are meteorology students at a gas station. this is about 2:00 a.m. or 3:00 a.m. local time. lots of wind damage reports in the raleigh, north carolina, area. this is three hours after that center hit landfall. all right. you are having a little bit of trouble earlier, you might remember this, betty. our reporters that are out by the storm itself. that's because of satellite trucks. they are aimed up into the sky. same situation on wednesday. sometimes they don't have the best connection. and this is jim cantore. he posted this saying, this is why my shot went down. this is a radar shot. 80-mile-an-hour winds is why he was unable to perhaps get his broadcast up to the bird, as

they say. and that's been many an issue for us in broadcasting over the last 12 hours, right? in terms of making that connection with a reporters that are down on the ground. jim cantore showing us a little bit of that video because his signal went down. let's go way up into the sky, though. astronaut reed wiseman on the international space station tweeted this. >> look at that storm. >> and what he said with this, betty, he said, oh, by the way, arthur, looks like you've gained an eye since the last time i saw you. >> that's almost a perfect eye, too. >> from this vantage point you can really see that. 9:00 p.m. yesterday is when it became, again, a hurricane. kevin g., he tweeted this and this is something that washington, d.c., and the area needs to look for. as arthur makes its way up north you'll see a lot of this. beautiful shots here. this is at union station. the amtrak station there. in washington, d.c. and the flags up in the sky, but how ominous it looked yesterday. there are some concerns of

surge, according to noaa. up to three feet, some flooding in areas close to washington, d.c. so they could see some of that heavy weather making their way. and finally for you, a little bit of humor, shall we say, as we make it into this great july 4th weekend. dean norris from "breaking bad" posted this on vine. >> it's getting hairy out here. hurricane crazy. >> so betty, obviously this is a spoof. he's in north carolina. he was down on the coast with his family. look. his kids are going, what's dad doing? >> you can tell something was fishy. >> he's such an actor. but he was having fun down there in north carolina trying to enjoy his family and july 4th holiday. >> the winds are blowing 100 miles an hour so that's not too much of a stretch. but at the time, not even close, right? >> there you go. >> that's why he's an actor. >> thank you. much more ahead on hurricane

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