arthur. we'll go live to the coast of north carolina and new york. and we'll get an update on what is being done to help folks stuck in the storm. we'll go inside the science of rip currents. don't go anywhere. [ female announcer ] aah, the amazing, delicious cinnamon and sugar taste of cinnamon toast crunch and cold milk. ♪ cinnamon toast crunch. crave those crazy squares. this, and definitely this. and that means this, cinnamon toast crunch. so if you're looking to buy a car, don't wait because the savings have already begun. just make sure before you buy to go to truecar.com or use the truecar app for guaranteed savings. happy fourth of july. deterghow about... both? n skin or tough on stains. new tide pods free and gentle free of dyes and perfumes with a deeper clean than the leading free detergent.

that's still gentle on skin. new tide pods free and gentle. pop in the best of both worlds.

that's why allstate gives you money back every year you don't have one. [ alarm wailing, dog barking ] whoops. claim-free rewards from allstate. your home protects you, protect it back. your home protects you, it's the yoplait greek taste-off and we're asking this sports town which blueberry greek yogurt is their champion.

a tastes better. it's yoplait! i knew it! do you want to see which one yoplait greek beat? chobani. hoorah! yoplait greek wins again. take the taste-off for yourself. welcome back on this fourth of july as we cover hurricane arthur. it's still too early to know the scope of the damage from this hurricane. the governor of north carolina, though, says we may not see the full picture until midmorning. the hurricane made landfall just before midnight. according to the national hurricane center, it is the earliest a hurricane has hit north carolina since records began back in 1851. governor pat mccrory said last night he's worried about damage to the coast and damage inland as well. >> we're most concerned now about flooding inland and also

storm surges in our sounds and our rivers further inland which we've had to experience in the past here in north carolina. so most people who have been concerned have been directly on the coast. now we have concerns about people inland who may be impacted by potential flooding and rivers going over their banks. >> let's get the latest on all of this with msnbc meteorologist bill karins. he's been tracking this storm. you expect it to have a lot of damage in its wake? >> damage is still being done now even though the storm is exiting. what they are talking about is the water from the storm being blown by the winds and it's piling up in one direction. thn the storm goes by and piles up from another direction. so it can get you from both sides with a storm like this. that's what we've been watching. just a picture going around social media of a guy in rodanthe. it has about four feet of ghawa in his basement from the sound side flooding. the winds from washington to

newberg across the pamlico sound. narrow ribbon of land. all of this schwart coming in now and it quickly went by. the wind direction switched. in 20 minutes the guy said the water came up four feet in the bottom level of his house. in the outer banks, the lower level of your house is where you park the car and where your stilts are. hopefully not a lot of damage from that but maybe a lot of vehicles flooded. as far as the winds, here's an example. here's the narrow ribbon. you can see the arrows point chicago wing which way the wind is going. it's blowing in this direction. the water continues to pile up and pile up until that wind will lighten up later on. so we're going to see that sound side flooding an the back side of a hurricane. we're going to see that happening for another couple hours. now as for new england, i mentioned to try to time this out for you. we're going to see a rainy day up there for your fourth of

july. the storm itself will not directly hit you. only on martha's vineyard, nantucket, cape cod may you have storm force winds. but notice the green showing up here. this narrow ribbon from vermont, new hampshire, back down through the catskills into pennsylvania. that's the cold front that's stalled out. and all this moisture slowly going to get sucked up that cold front during the day today. as the storm goes east, so will the cold front. but with it will be bands of heavy rain. we have flood watches up for areas from d.c. to new york. it poured the last couple of days of those thunderstorms. and we still have a lot of people out there without power. at one point yesterday, new jersey and pennsylvania alone had 150,000 people without power. this shows you where that ribbon of rain is back to the north. as we go through the day, it slowly pushes to the east. by noon, notice here's the center of arthur. a lot of that rain is being

sucked to the north. we should have steady rain over areas of long island, connecticut, rhode island. not a beach day for you there. by the time the fireworks go tonight, still heavy rain from cape cod to boston. it's a good thing they did the fireworks last night. the forecast, this is why they did it. >> smart thinking on their part. >> they made a great call. arthur is wreaking havoc as thousands of vacationers have fled north carolina's coastal areas. giant waves, heavy rain and strong winds are hammering the popular spots. the string of narrow barrier islands is home to 47,000 permanent residents. sarah dallof is live in north carolina's outer banks with the latest an this storm. she was being blown by the wind and the rain a little earlier. have things calmed down just -- nope. doesn't look like it. for a second i thought maybe you were getting a little bit of relief. >> yeah, i did, too. every time i'm about to say, hey, the rain is dying down, the wind is dying down it sweeps

through just as angry. >> all right. so this shot is coming in and out. obviously, she's in the midst of a storm so we can expect it to be that way. the situation as we have it right now for hurricane arthur is a category 2 storm. is moving up the east coast. we're going to try to get sarah back just as soon as we can. you can see the areas where it hit. and kill devil hills, that's another area where it's really receiving the brunt of the rain and the wind right now. we're going to try to give you the latest on an area a little bit farther to the north in new york. ron allen is there for us. and folks in new york aren't going to see anything to the extent of what sarah dallof is experiencing right now. but nonetheless, the preparing for arthur. >> yeah, this is a good time not to be in north carolina, but here. you can see the surf is very calm now, but there are still warnings about what will happen later this afternoon as the storm moves up the east coast and gets closer to here later in

the day. we expect a lot of heavy rain. and that's the last thing this region needs after two nights of significant rainfall. in some parts of new york city, the rain was so torrential it was flooding the subways and they had to close them don for periods of time. up to two inches per hour. so that's what the situation is here. also we expect that there will be some surfers out here, swimmers perhaps because this is the kind of weather they like. but it's dangerous. there's concerns about rip currents, concerns about very strong surf. there could be some beach erosion because of that. again, a lot of communities are watching the weather to see if they can get their fourth of july festivities in. here they had a concert planned for today. they've canceled it and they'll move it later into the summer some time. in new york city, the macy's fireworks display, the huge extravaganza that happens every year is going to take place, the organizers say, no matter what the weather is. but the forecast now is expecting to say that the weather should be fine by then. whatever happens, we're

expecting rain through the afternoon but clearing as the day goes on. and the forecast for tomorrow, saturday and sunday is really brilliant. but now here, people watching, waiting to see what happens. you can see down in this direction a few people out taking their morning jogs or morning walks along this -- >> yeah, the area there right now looks calm n peaand peacefu ron. your seeing any red flags up or -- i'm being told that we've lost ron's audio. so we're having a little bit of difficulty with some of our satellites right now. we're following hurricane arthur. we want to give you the latest an that. we'll continue to bring you up to speed on what's happening. what the storm means for your fourth of july. as well as some of your other headlines. keep it right here on msnbc.

you know that dream... on my count. ...the one where you step up and save the day? make it happen. (crowd) oh no... with verizon xlte. hey guys, i got it right here! we've doubled our 4g lte bandwidth in cities coast to coast. so take on more. with xlte. on the largest, most reliable 4g lte network.

thyou can do ing ianything...y. ...if you keep a good head on your shoulders. that's why we use head & shoulders shampoo and conditioners. it keeps us 100% flake free. so i just have gorgeous hair. head & shoulders. the world's #1 shampoo. welcome back, everybody, as we continue our coverage of hurricane arthur. you wouldn't tell that a

hurricane was on the way by looking at that. the annual boston pops fourth of july concert took place on july 3rd after officials decided to hold it early to avoid complications from hurricane arthur. officials in new jersey and maine have also delayed independence day celebrations because of the storm. listen to this. in augusta, the fireworks are postponed until august. now that's being safe. right now, the hurricane is just off the coast of north carolina as it moves northeast toward cape cod. north carolina's outer banks, though, they were expected to get the worst of this storm. let's head there to see how people are holding up. right now i'm joined on the phone by jamie folk, fire and ems chief for morehead city just south of the outer banks. thanks for joining us, jamie. >> good morning. >> so what kind of damage have you experienced and seen in your area? >> last night, when the eye of the storm came over, we did receive some very high winds and

just a little ways from us, they did get a reading of, i believe it was 100-mile-an-hour wind. we have had some trees down. there are several people, the majority of morehead city area is still without power and we've had a lot of debris, substantial rain. but we've not had any rescues or anything of that nature. >> we're hearing some 20,000-plus pim are without power right now. what kind of a concern is that for you, especially if there are folks that are in need of help? >> well, it comes as a concern, especially our obility to get trucks to them. to get emergency services to them, medical care and things of that nature. >> have you had many calls so

far overnight or this morning from people who are experiencing the brunt of this storm and do indeed need help? >> during the eye of the storm, we received numerous calls. most of those calls have not been medical type calls but they have been storm related such as trees down and power outages. >> that's good to know you don't have a lot of injuries as a result of this. your concerned about flooding? is that what you are really turning to now? >> at this point, we feel like that the flooding issue is somewhat nonexistent. >> oh, really? >> during the height of the storm, for us on the southern outer banks, we don't feel the flooding is an issue for us at this point in time. >> well, that is definitely some good news. jamie fulk, fire and ems heave for morehead city. stay safe out there. thanks for the work you do, and thanks for joining us this morning. >> thank you. let's go back to nbc's sere

dallof live in the outer banks with the latest there. sarah, what's the situation where you are right now? well, we lost your shot again. this storm is wreaking havoc on our satellites. there she is once again. sarah, what's the latest where you are? >> the latest, betty is that last time when you said it looked like the wind was dying just this huge burst came up accompanied by this sideways rain and conditions have steadily decreased since then. we're taking a pounding out here on the shore. believe it or not, we don't have it the worst. the top winds we've seen here in kill devil hills, 60 to 70 miles an hour. 30 miles south -- 30 minutes south, rather, they've seen winds topping more than 100 miles an hour. let me give you a look at the ocean right now so you can see what that looks like. all of those angry white caps out there just pounding, pounding -- one meteorologist reported that the water levels rising about six feet in 20 minutes.

give you an idea of how dangerous that can be. >> indeed it can be dangerous with that storm moving through. sarah will continue to be out there and we'll try to get back with her as soon as we can. we're following the track of this hurricane, hurricane arthur, which is now a category 2 hurricane still blowing along the east coast making its way northward. coming up, find out the hidden danger hurricane arthur is bringing all up and down the coast this holiday weekend. stay right here. ♪ during the cadillac summer's best event, lease this all new 2014 cts for around $459 a month or purchase with 0% apr and make this the summer of style.

welcome back, everybody, on this fourth of july. we'll have the latest hurricane information on arthur at the top of the hour. first other stories in the news. pentagon leaders insist iraqi security forces are capable of defending baghdad from insurgents. secretary of state chuck hagel and general martin dempsey said yesterday there are about 200 u.s. military advisers in the country. the troops won't be part of combat operations. dempsey added the militants are

stretched thin trying to hold the cities they have already seized. the employment picture in america is bright. 288,000 new jobs were added in june. more than expected, and that sent stocks soaring. the unemployment rate fell to 6.1%. president obama says this shows the economy is building momentum. he says the u.s. could be making stronger progress if washington focused an people instead of politics. a group of lawmakers got a firsthand look at the border crisis yesterday. members of congress toured a facility in texas where undocumented immigrants are being held. meanwhile, texas officials say they may sue the department of homeland security. a spokesman told nbc news that a request for $30 million for border enforcement went unanswered. more than 52,000 unaccompanied children have crossed the border since october 1st. all right. let's go back to hurricane arthur. and meteorologist bill karins who has been tracking this storm overnight. category 2.

are we seeing it weaken any? >> we saw those live shots in those pictures. the back side of this storm. some back sides of these storms don't have a lot to them. some can slap you pretty good. that's what you are watching out there now. even though the center is off the coast. this storm has made a little bit of history. the earliest hurricane to hit north carolina, it's the first category 2 that we've seen make landfall in this country since 2008. and, remember, we've gone all the way since wilma in 2005 since we've had a category 3. didn't quite reach that status. but it's been a while since we had a hurricane of this stature move through the u.s. thankfully it did hit an area of the country if it's going to hit somewhere it hit the outer banks who gets hit maybe once every other year. if they'll be anywhere prepared for this, it's the outer banks. the latest imagery just in here. still has that well defined eye even though it's trying to go parallel to the virginia beach area. definitely getting rain and winds around virginia beach but it's not going to be as much damage there as north carolina. still a very rainy morning.

even our friends in ocean city, maryland, not a beach day for a lot of those people on vacation. >> thank you. you don't have to be anywhere near the storm to feel the dangerous effects of hurricane arthur. all along the east coast, rip currents have been catching beachgoers off guard. dylan dreyer has more on this potentially deadly danger. >> reporter: as hurricane arthur whips up the waters an the east coast, the powerful waves can be dangerous for adventurous beach gt goers. high and frequent waves can also cause dangerous rip currents, often invisible to swimmers. they are responsible for 80% of all surf rescues. in these images, the murky areas show the rip currents. shifts in the sand create a short, narrow valley where receding water flows back out to sea at a much more rapid rate. >> right here by the pier. >> jason cahill survived the terrifying ordeal. >> look nothing i ever felt before and i'm a pretty strong guy.

>> today he's talking to his son about safety. rip currents pull the swimmer away from the shore, not under water. survival may depend on going against your natural instinct. swimming directly back to the shore is nearly impossible. the danger occurs when a swimmer can no longer keep themselves afloat, either from fear, exhaustion or lack of skill. anyone can get caught in them. andrew healy has been a lifeguard for 44 years. so you yourself have been stuck in them? >> sure. no lifeguard has ever been a lifeguard hasn't been in a rip current. >> how to escape? they are often no wider than 30 feet. >> most people we tell them swim left or right, parallel because then you're out of the force of the water that's bringing you out. >> that advice saved randy's life. there were no lifeguards on duty when he was swept away. >> it took me about a half hour to get out of the rip current. i was about a half a mile away from my blanket, but i made it out, and it was a little winded. you just have to, you know, believe that you're going to

make it and everything is going to be okay. >> even after hurricane arthur passes, rip currents could still be a threat for several days. joining me now is dr. ellen prager, a marine scientist. she's on skype which is a good thing. we can see her. good morning. >> good morning. >> here's the big problem. a lot of people don't know how to spot a rip current in order to get out of the way. how can you see one in order not to get sucked in? >> the problem is they are very difficult to see, especially if the surf is rough. there some are tell-tale signs. sometimes you'll see debris or a calmer spot. if the signs are up for rip currents, and they're going to be up for this fourth of july and the next few days along the east coast, truthfully, people should not go in the water. they are difficult to spot from the beach. >> what you don't want to do is swim toward the shore. you'll wear yourself out. but it does seem like it goes

against instinct to swim either back out to sea or even sideways from the current. >> that's right. your immediate reaction is to try to get back to the beach as quick as possible. that would take you directly against this narrow jet of water. and typically they are pretty narrow. so the thing to do is, instead of trying to swim directly back to the beach, swim parallel to shore or along shore so you can get out of that narrow jet. and then you should be able to swim into the beach. but just like you said it goes against your natural instinct, just get me back to the beach now. >> what if you aren't a strong swimmer. i think i would panic saying i don't know if i can stay out here long enough to ride this out and try to get back to the shore. what do you do then if you aren't a strong swimmer? >> you really need to get out of that water. the other thing you can do is, if there are lifeguards and if they see you, stop struggling and let the rip current take you out and hopefully the lifeguard will come and get you. if you aren't a strong swimmer,

you should not be going in the water when there's a threat for rip currents. >> stay away. >> that's the answer. >> all right. dr. ellen prager, thanks for joining us and providing us with more information on rip currents. that wraps things up for me. richard lu i picks up the special coverage of hurricane arthur.

good morning. hurricane arthur making 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-an-hour winds, along with the threat of extensive flooding, dangerous surf and power outages as well. arthur has even put a damper on fourth of july celebrations,

forcing boston to move up its annual pops concert and fireworks to last night instead of today. now to the latest on hurricane arthur. good day. i'm richard lui. the worst the worst appears to be over for the outer banks of north carolina as the arthur exits into the atlantic ocean and east of kitty hawk and packing 1-hundred-mile-an-hour wind gust i was just mnentioning. the folks of north carolina could see sunshine by noon today. overnight the area was pounded by wind and rain and 25,000 people have lost power but the hope is power crews will be able to get in kim after the storm passes through. two counties along the coast remain under mandatory evacuation. the storm will stay off the coast as it moves off the northeast. cape cod could get