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 hit with

storms later too. msnbc meteorologist bill karins has been watching the storm. it entered first time landfall last night in term of the outer edge. you're reporting now moving away? >> the eye is quickly racing away. the faster the storm goes, the better it has less time to do damage with all of on those wind gusts. i have the heard a lot of reports of extensive wind damage. trees down here and there and shingles missing here and there but not any catastrophic wind damage. we are waiting to get the pictures to see how bad the flooding has been from the storm surge. two bouts of that. one storm to the south and a lot of beach erosion. now we are getting sound side flooding on the southern half on the outer banks south of kill devil hills around cape hatteras. knows are the areas that we are

seeing reports on social media of considerable water on the roads and in the bottom level of a lot of the structures. now, in the outer banks a lot of structures are meant to have water go under them and they are up on stilts because of the land out there in the middle of the ocean practically. hopefully, not too much damage is being done. here is the i. look over north carolina. barely any rain left over north carolina any more and we do have bands around here virginia beach a gusty windy morning up to ocean city, maryland. but we are not watching a devastation taking place right now. the storm is fairly healthy but quickly exit. the stats from the hurricane center. the 5:00 a.m. update. the big update is 11:00 a.m. with the new path. the question how will this come to cape cod and will we get any wind damage. still a strong category two. hurricane force winds are existing the coast but tropical storm winds over eastern north

carolina and tropical storm gusts around virginia beach. here is the current winds. if you get 40 to 50-mile-per-hour winds you can get tree damage but you won't see any structural damage. the wind gusts we are seeing now in the outer bank 40 to 50-mile-per-hour. look back to the west. even an hour west. newburn, roanoke rapids, wind gusts 18 to 25. the rain stops, the clouds begin to break. it will be a breezy afternoon as everyone heads out to see how bad the damage is. the piece we have to deal with is how close do we come to cape cod? nantucket in the cone of uncertainty and chatham barely in that cone of uncertainty. and slim into areas of nova scotia. a rainy, cloudy fourth of july for boston and the question is

how close the winds get. >> we have the rip tide concerns as well? >> it's a given from north florida to cape cod. the question are people's barbecues and fireworks rained out from boston to new york. >> yesterday, you didn't necessarily see it turning inland. anything to make note of all the fact that arthur moved in? >> no i mean, the path really wasn't too badly forecasted and maybe shifted west 20 miles but wasn't that much of a factor. >> just thinking of the future. bill karins will be with us on the half hour with more. thousands of vacationers forced to flee north carolina's coastal areas because of hurricane arthur. the state's popular outer banks as bill was telling us, expecting to see around 250,000 tourists amongst all of that weather this weekend. giant waves and heavy rain and strong winds tearing through the area over night. sarah dollof has been there.

kill devil hilels in the outer banks, you had a lot of wind earlier but what are you seeing now? >> the wind, i don't want to jinx anything but it has died down a little bit, as has the rain. it was coming across pretty heavy and pretty sideways so we are seeing a slight drop in that. let me show you the ocean right now. as dangerous as it is, it is quite a beautiful picture. all of the white caps out there. coming up on low tide a half hour to an hour so the waters are receding here but you have the angry waves. on the beach we have had about three feet erosion back here. about 30 minutes south of here they reported seeing the water rise about six feet in 20 minutes earlier this morning. that gives you an idea how quickly conditions change in these category two hurricanes. we got about 250,000 people who are expected to be on the outer banks here this holiday week. here in kill devil hills we did not have a mandatory or

voluntary evacuation. so a lot of people opted to stay and opted to hunker down into these beach houses and hope to salvage some of their holiday weekend. right now, it looks like very minimal damage up and down the beach. we have seen some shingles fly by but no metal, no wood. nothing to that extreme. on twitter we have seen include street signs bent over. that metal bent over. the highest winds eve seen in this area about 60 to 70 miles an hour. if you're out here it sure feels like a lot but it could be worse. farther down south 103 miles an hour, richard. we are expecting a couple of more hours of this and looking at the maps the hurricane swing around and got another band of nasty weather headed our way, but right now, things have noticeably improved from when we

started two hours ago but we are not out of the woods yet, richard. >> i know mike seidel was noting where he was not too far where you were. concern did the degradation of the sand being taken away. you certainly have seen those 100-mile-an-hour winds you're reporting right now. as you look up and down the fol beach, as the folks arrive at the beach, what are the conditions going to be like? >> the shore line has changed overnight. this dip was not here yesterday. we are dropping several feet down here. like i said the tide back right now. but this is all washed away all ever this sand here for this drop so this is what people are going to find when they come out. a little less beach front than when we were out here enjoying it about 24 hours ago. >> sarah, thank you so much. the latest for us there in the outer banks where they saw the

brunt of arthur the last 12 hours. first hurricane ever to make landfall in the u.s. on the fourth of july arthur is threatening holiday plans. the category two storm climbing north while the new york area should escape a direct hit. forecasters warn of high surf, dangerous rip tides and nbc ron allen is live on long island beach, new york. looks like you got good waves there, ron? >> yeah. warnings here no swimming, water hazard. you shouldn't be in the water. they are probably up and down this beach. there are no lifeguards yet. early in the morning. you can see a few yards out, there are at least two surfers out there already. in this direction down the beach, there's about a dozen more. a big surfing area so people are going to be coming out despite the signs that say no swimming and taking a chance because they like these waves. right now, the wind is kind of

calm so the waves aren't kicking up, but as the storm moves further north from the south, we expect this to pick up. they are concerned about storm surges. they concerned about some beach erosion. not huge amount of it, but something, nonetheless. on a normal fourth of july holiday, this beach would be packed with people. later today? maybe not. the big concern in this part of the country is rain. we have already had two nights of torrential downpours with heavy thunder and lightning and strong rains and some places, as much as 2 inches in an hour, which is a a lot of to absorb. we may have more of that as the day wind on. in this town they have cancelled the fourth of july concert they had and pushed it back late into the summer and other communities are doing the same thing. a lot of cloud cover and looks pretty ominous and getting more cloudy as the morning has unfolded before us. back to you, richard. >> ron, i know a lot of people

as you're noting want to get down there to enjoy the long weekend and are thinking back to sandy and how sandy had damaged much of the coastline this part of the country. it's good to see, though, that the weather hopefully will be passing through without too much damage. ron, thanks so much. the latest for us there in new york. nearly a dozen north carolina counties still have states of imagine as we go south again and in place right now. the big worry the storm surge along the coast. when that does happen we could see up to three feet and six feet in some areas according to what noaa is estimating right now. joining us on the phone from wilmington, north carolina, lieutenant chris ward of the u.s. coast guard. lieutenant, have you seen any indication of those high storm surges that noaa is concerned about at this moment? up to six feet there on the outer banks. >> good morning, richard. we have seen some storm surge. we are getting our assessment teams out as soon as we can now.

they are kind of working north-to-south and we are still seeing a lot of the wind and conditions up there that, you know, are making some areas unsafe in the outer banks. we haven't got a full evaluation there but working to get that completed this morning. as you said, it's going to be a busy day. >> lieutenant, you had estimations you're clearly ready for this, working with emergency operations in the area. now that it looks like arthur is moving off the coast, the center of the storm moving away from north carolina, how would you assess what you expected versus what you know right now? more or less? >> well, i think we went into it expecting a serious storm and that is what we got. but i think the preparation with the state and local partners just really helped it go smoothly and we still won't know exactly what we have got until we get out there and get the full evaluations done of the waterways, the facilities, and really see what this dah the storm did. >> quickly. any reports of incidents with civilians? we have heard the reports of

those out, you know, being stupid, if you will, as the governor was saying don't do that. folks out there surfing and trying to take advantage of these waves here. >> the locals have helped out a lot. i know with people getting in the water and getting them out of the water but we haven't had any search and rescue cases down here where we had to go off shore and help people in stress. i think the public really heeded the warning. >> lieutenant, thank you for your work there. you have a good fourth. >> thank you already whether you're in arthur's path a flood sewn or tornado alley or earthquake territory, do you have what it takes to be prepared for these natural disasters and natural situations? great for frank, who's quite particular... russian jazz funk? next to swedish hip hop. when he knows what he wants... - thank you. do you have himalayan toad lilies? spotted, or speckled? speckled. yes. he has to have it. a cubist still life of rye bread...

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hurricane arthur just spinning off the east coast about 20 miles east of kitty hawk at 85 southeast of norfolk, virginia. the good news is that it may not last much longer and a lot of people hoping for that. but about 25,000 people have lost power from the storm. that's just a tiny fraction compared to the 168,000 people who lost power from thunderstorms that hit pennsylvania overnight. arthur will next make landfall in nova scotia. it is estimated on saturday morning. the storm, it is the first named storm, arthur of the 2014

hurricane season but probably will not be the last serm. so what do you need to do and what do need to have and know if you're living in the path of the next hurricane? anton edwards is with the national preparedness network and joins us now. you've brought simple items that we can have it prepare for storms, earthquakes, what have you. >> right. one of the things that we discussed right before the segment was that the hurricane can also bring about other disasters, other problems, like, power outages and people need flashlights and such. i brought one of the things i got sheer a head lamp. why a head lamp? head lamp with led light you won't lose it in high winds. >> you put it on your forehead. >> it's easy to use. it sits here. it did navigate your way around space. you can set yourself up for an

injury because you're in a darkened area and you fall, tree branches, power lines and all of the different hazards that come about with a hurricane. >> that is a simple every day camping health, right? >> yes, a simple camping health that uses two aaa cells and it will burn a long time. the thing about led lights before you longer err so people should look for lead flashlights and getting extra batteries with them. >> i've had one of those two years and i haven't had to replace the batteries. you're right about that. what else might be helpful that you brought? >> one of the most important things outside for a longer light i have like the solar flashlight that i used before. multitools. not to get into all of the dynamics but they have little flyers on that and you might have to make spot repairs. oftentimes, windows get jammed and doors get jammed, things like that. you might have to fix something quickly. cut something quickly, a small

knife plate. so many little things happen during these kind of imagines and you have to have the tools on hand. people don't realize. the person kit is really the foundation for your personal safety during these imagines. >> as we remember so well from sandy, we had trouble with fuel, getting gas. >> that's right. >> and we had trouble also with water in some places. any suggestions there? >> people have got to store as much water as they can. i suggest that having nonperishable food items and water for at least a week, not the three days. the three days isn't enough. over the past, like, let's say, ten years and most of the different disasters that i've responded to, i haven't seen one that has lasted in that critical three-day period. it's more than three days so i think people should provide for themselves for seven. >> where do you put the stuff? >> you keep your water in some place your go bag where you with get it and keep your water away from sunlight so it doesn't heat up the bottle it's in so make

sure your nonperishable food items in a cool where no insects and vermin. >> we would put the go packs because in an earthquake you want to be able to grab it. thank you for the suggestions. very helpful. >> thank you. fallout from hurricane arthur. disturbing allegations ofting and a dad leaving his child in a sweltering car. stay with us. don't just visit new york

visit tripadvisor new york with millions of reviews, tripadvisor makes any destination better.

to all of you just joining us, happy july fourth to you. boy, they were doing it right in boston. the boston pops, their fourth of july concert and fireworks. yeah, it took place last night. the festivities held a day earlier and you know why. because of the concern over hurricane arthur. thousands were there for the

show according to "the boston globe" and it lasted about 20 minutes. glorious minutes, might you say. looking at that and being able to listen to the boston pops. after the works ended police ordered an evacuation of the area. that quickly heavy rain started falling later but they got to have the entire celebration done on time and a day earlier. other stories we are following for you on this july fourth. a judge denying 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 very same day, was sexting them, and wanted a, quote, child-free life. the defense insists there is no evidence the death was intentional. while the east coast is battered by wind and rain, in the west two other weather events are causing significant disruption. first a gigantic dust storm, a

haboob as some call it. what a sight that was blowing on up social media. in california the napa fire. crews around the state arrived to help. flames scorched more than 6 1/2 square miles. the east coast. north carolina officials have been hoping for the best, but bracing for the worst as hurricane arthur rolls through, now moving off the coast of north carolina. the storm spending about six hours over land. but the eye over the atlantic now. nevertheless two counties remain under mandatory evacuation and more than 100 national guard troops have been deployed there. joining us on the phone now is lieutenant colonel tim murphy of the north carolina national guard. a lot of space for you to be concerned about here, lieutenant. when we look at this, talk about the outer banks. there was concern of the highway

being closed off because of storm damage and/or sand. what do you know about that? >> good morning. actually, the two counties that cover most of the outer banks, derrick county and hyde county, they are getting out now that the sun is up and, obviously, very interested in finding out if highway 12 which goes down the outer banks, is still clear and operational. >> yeah. that would be a concern because they would not then be connected at least via a land connection like the highway 12 you're talking about. what have you heard about damage or injuries from those either on the outer banks or more on the mainland? >> currently -- well, with the sun just coming up, most of the numbers are just kind of -- there really isn't anything coming in yet. we are just starting to get poup t out. getting out and starting their damage assessment and see where the most critical needs are at

this time. >> lieutenant colonel tim murphy, thank you for your time and your work there. >> thank you. >> you bet. much more ahead on hurricane arthur on msnbc. we go live to the coast of north carolina and new york and get an update what is being done to help folks stuck in the storm. and we go inside the science of rip currents which is the concern the next couple of days. don't go anywhere. t includes my fico® credit score. yup, you get it free each month to help you avoid surprises with your credit. good. i hate surprises. surprise! at discover, we treat you like you'd treat you. get the it card and see your fico® credit score.

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of course, he's wearing red pants with an orange shirt. his cashier says "if you squint you don't even notice it". what?! use a liberty mutual approved repair shop and all repairs are guaranteed for as long as you own your car. see car insurance in a whole new light. liberty mutual insurance. so far, no reports of the extensive damage from hurricane arthur, but there are fears there could still be flooding both along the coast and inland. the category two storm currently spending about 20 miles east of kitty hawk and concerns it could dump further rain up the east coast as the bands twirl around and hit the area of north carolina, brushing along cape

cod on the way to making landfall and in nova scotia talking about what might be possible, here is bill karins, msnbc meteorologist. what you got, bill? >> three stages to this storm. the one we just got done with or ending right now is with arthur over north carolina. later tonight, we are going to deal with it near cape cod and saturday as we go into on nova scotia. it's not going to making landfall in cape cod and brush the cape and make a direct landfall. nova scotia is going to get a direct hit from 75-mile-per-hour hurricane and they are not as category safely built and prone as eastern north carolina is. with this track, let's talk specifically about the new england area for those of you that are on cape cod and martha's vineyard area. we are looking at the winds arriving. tropical storm winds and there are tropical storm force warnings out there. 40 to 60-mile-per-hour gusts are shown in this orange cone here when you start getting a tropical storm wind gusts. those arrive at 8:00 tonight down here on the cape and i think the macy's fireworks in

new york city area no problem at all with those. the winds are not that close to being that strong in the new york city area. that is 8:00 p.m. at 8:00 p.m. be inside the house wherever you're staying on the cape. throughout the night we will watch the strong winds and by tomorrow morning, it looks to be sometime around 5:00 a.m. or so that we will begin to notice the winds relaxing and that is when the storm will be pushing up toward nova scotia. it's a majority of the overnight into the early morning hours. similar to what we just dealt with there in eastern north carolina. as far as the rainfall forecast goes this is not going to be as simple as the winds. a lot of heavy rain, of course, with the hurricane. then we have a cold front. the same front that gave us the horrible thunderstorms the last two days still lingering over the northeast. that is already, you can almost see it starting to pick up the green and rain and shunt it up through areas of new york city and long island, connecticut and rhode island and massachusetts. our computers are estimating a soaking rain.

1 to 2 inches from the cat skills and newberg to boston and heavy rain along the coast of maine. computers indicating a possibility of 3 to 6 inches of rain so we will have to watch out for flooding up there and later tonight into tomorrow. there is flood watches still up for the philadelphia to new york city area. that is mostly because of the heavy rain the last two days. the timing of the rainfall by about noon today, heavy rain. that is the red over long island. connecticut. all through massachusetts. these are a lot of washed out barbecues and zero beach plans i imagine on long island and also connecticut with a forecast like this. then, of course, the waves too. then the storm begins to head up into the areas toward cape cod throughout the afternoon and when the heaviest rains and winds arrive there. a lot of people from the mid-atlantic you don't get directly hit into new england from this storm, but your fourth of july plans are not as you had envisioned. >> like i said if you're outdoors you probably want to move indoors or it beach see the waves and red flag warnings. there was talk about tornado

concerns and that was within the last 12 hours. what are you seeing now? >> that is stronger landfalling system. still a warm climate in the south down there. zero tornado concerns throughout there today. the concern are the beaches and inconvenience factor in new england. >> this is arthur hitting cooler water now? >> right now it's still over pretty warm water but begin to transition. i mentioned that cold front. it's going to merge with the cold front and combine to be an extra tropical storm. the cold front will win the battle and as the day progresses, it will look less like a hurricane and then it will become your typical storm that we normally get in the wintertime. the storm will go through the canadian maritimes and head to europe in a couple of days. >> europe? >> yeah. it's making the whole journey but not as a hurricane. >> you're not going anywhere. you are working triple time. he'd like to go to europe but he is with us to make sure what is going on with hurricane arthur. thousands of vacationers

have fleed north carolina outer banks there. a 200 mile string of narrow barrier islands and home to about 57,000 permanent residents but as msnbc sarah dollof who is there right now for us, knows so well, it's not 57,000 people during holidays like this. tell us. what have you seen in terms of the tourists, as well as the residents and how they have been reacting the last 24 hours? >> well, i can actually show you. i don't need to tell you. about 250,000 extra people here on the island. the visitors and, of course, the media and folks like this who are not heeding warnings to stay inside, but, instead, are out in the surf. this is something officials have cautioned people. there is dangerous rip tides out there in the ocean and with all of the visitors not used to these conditions and getting in that water is a recipe for

disaster right now. >> what is the hotel situation been like? have they still been full? people not packing up and moving inland or do you see that they are doing that? >> we have seen a little bit of that, richard, but not what you would expect. here at kill devil hills, we are not under any sort of evacuation order be it mandatory or voluntary. a lot of people have opted to stay. hotels were offering free cancellations. they are determined to make it happen and ride out this storm. >> they are going to enjoy the weekend. within the last hour, how have the conditions changed? >> they change, i would say, every five minutes, the wind dies down, it picks up. the wind sideways stinging rain is new within the last five minutes. we are getting the low tide out here so we have seen the waters recede pretty significantly. it's showing beach erosion from

the hurricane and, richard, we are told to expect at least another two hours of conditions like this before things really move on. >> sarah, as we report on stories like this, you're wearing your blue coat today. during the winter, you probably got like six layers underneath it to keep warm. i imagine that the weather now is a bit warmer. you probably got two layers on but probably can feel that sand and rain hitting you. >> yeah. i have no complaints about the temperature. it's actually really pleasant temperature out here. the protection from the rain and the wind and then this flying sand that we are shielding our skin from. as as for the temperature, no complaints here. really mild and really pleasant right now. once this storm clears it's going to be nice for people. >> with those gusts right now, are you able to stand? is it pushing you off center a little bit? >> we were joking earlier. you got to find the humor in this. i'm getting a free micro derm

abrasion from this. you don't know if it's the wind or the sand whipping through. but the conditions come and go. one minute, not so bad. the next minute you're standing sideways and trying not to fall over. >> as you're looking up and down the coast there you see a dozen or two people out there? how many are out there at this time? it's only 6:30 in the morning. >> still pretty early. people have been really interested to see how this goes. i can see two people walking up the coast here. a couple of in the water. earlier we had a bunch of what i'd say teenagers or 20 something-year-old guys out playing in the surf. most people heeding those warnings to stay inside right now. >> have you seen any of the officials locally, lifeguard or beach rescue officials and what have you heard them reporting as of late? >> we had firefighters here earlier today at the hotel. we had a fire alarm tripped they think by the water.

as far as the officials, they are focusing on the medical problems and the more urgent problems. we are in a good position here and not running into trouble. officials say the majority of their calls have been storm-related, not medical and that is good news. they have also brought in a lot of equipment so as soon as the storm clears they can get to work removing the sand and wash out and getting back to normal here. >> we are hoping for that. one last quick one here. the highway 12 connection so key to the 250,000 folks that might be on the outer banks right now. have we heard any reports right now in terms of whether that still has any damage or whether it's just okay at the moment? >> my understanding right now is that it is just okay, that it is not, at this time, at risk. like you said that is the way in and way out out of here. once that road, if and when that road gets cut off, so is everyone here on that island. you mentioned the permanent residents and 250,000 estimated visitors here. it could be a long wait.

i will say people were very prepared. they had water and hotels have stocked up to keep their guests comfortable in case that road closes down and we are cut off from the mainland for a few days. >> sarah, thank you very much. the outer banks there in north carolina and watching as arthur moves away from the coastline there. thank you so much. let's move to the residents along the eastern seaboard farther north. they are bracing for the effects of hurricane arthur. as it moves north the category two storm climbing up the coast and making landfall as we have just been reporting in north carolina. the new york area, that is expected to dodge a direct hit. forecasters warn of dangerous curve and rip currents along the coastline areas and where nbc' ron allen is live in new york. you're not wearing your jacket at this hour at 6:40 in the morning but the concerns we just talked about. be careful of the currents.

>> indeed. this beach is technically closed. the sign no swimming, water hazard. a lot of concern about rip currents but you can see out there perhaps the number of guys out on boards already surfing. this is a surfing mecca in this part of the country. they have been out there for the past hour and there are more guys coming trying to get out here before the rain starts. that's a concern that it's going to start raining at some point. the clouds are building and getting darker over in that direction and the forecasts are calling for more rain and we have already had two intense nights of rain and thunderstorms the past couple of nights that has drenched this area and flooded some of the subways in some areas and there are still flash flood warnings in effect until noon today in much of this region. a lot of concern about the water. a lot of barbecues and things washed out. they had a concerned planned here for yesterday and that got postponed later into the summer. the beach is empty. still early but people may come

out and try to enjoy the day. again, a lot of skeconcern abou the weather. there is not a direct hit from the hurricane here but we could get peripheral stuff from it. people just watching the weather to make sure that -- see what the day brings. richard? >> hopefully, it passes by without causing too much damage. we can only remember what happened during hurricane sandy and a lot of folks want to enjoy this great holiday weekend. ron allen, thank you very much. straight ahead, what the storm means for your fourth of july and other headlines. you're watching msnbc.

the sun is up along the east coast and officials are getting their first look at the damage done by hurricane arthur. so far, it appears it could have been a lot worse. heavy wind and rain knocking out power to more than 25,000 people in north carolina. but by way of comparison, overnight, thunderstorms knocked out power to six times as many people in pennsylvania alone.

we take you to what looks like a flooded parking lot in waves here. north carolina, it's on hatteras island and part of the flood-prone outer banks. no cars there and hopefully everybody is at home where they should be. you don't have to be at home to feel the effects of hurricane arthur. rip currents are catching people off guard. ded ded h dylan dreyer has more. as hurricane arthur whips up the waters on the east coast, the powerful waves can be enticing for adventurous beachgoers, but high and frequent waves can also cause dangerous rip current often invisible to swimmers, they are responsible for 80% of all surf rescues. in these images, the murky areas show the rip current. shifts in the sands show a narrow valley where receding water flows back out to sea at a much more rapid rate. >> it was right here at the peer.

>> reporter: jason cayhill survived the terrifying ordeal. >> it was like nothing i felt before. and i'm a pretty strong guy. >> reporter: 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. you know, no lifeguard hasn't been in a rip current. >> reporter: how to escape? rip currents are often no wider than 30 feet. >> most people, we found swim left-to-right, parallel. then you're out of the force of the water bringing you out. >> reporter: that advice saved raen randy torrent's life. there were no lifeguards on duty when he was swept away. >> it took me about half an hour to get out of the rip current and i was about half a mile from my blanket, but i made it out.

i 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. >> nbc dylan dreyer with that report for us. rip currents could be a threat for several days. joining us now via skype is dr. ellen prager a manner scienti, t and author. if you can identify a rip current and you're in a rip current, that which you should do? >> that's right. when you get a rip current, it's a very strong narrow jet of water going from the beach offshore and your first reaction is to swim against it and that is exactly what you don't want to do. there tend to be very narrow. they form in sort of low areas on the beach. so if you swim parallel to shore along the beach, you should be able to get out of it and then you can swim back to shore. >> in these conditions that we are looking at right now, as

arthur makes its way up the east coast, would these rip currents be any different than what we are normally accustomed to seeing during a day-to-day situation? >> rip currents occur when you have prolonged high onshore waves and wind. so what is probably going to happen is you're probably going to have more rip currents in more areas this time than normally because we have such a wide swath of the east coast being affected by hurricane arthur. so there are probably going to be more rip currents and they probably are more often in places where maybe you don't usually see them. >> right. when you first start to either learn how to surf or boogie board, they tell you, okay, look for this when you're looking out into the water and often you'll see surfers just sit there and stare into the ocean for five or six minutes before they head out there. >> well, you know, sometimes you can see where the rips are. sometimes you can't. the telltale evidence if you see

debris flowing offshore, you might see sand roll up and being brought offshore. sometimes it's smoother than the surrounding water because you've got the water flowing out versus the waves coming in. so there telltale signs but i'll tell you, with a high onshore winds it's going to be hard to see those. i think unless as you said you're used to looking for those and you spend a lot of time it's going to be very hard. the best advice, what everybody is saying, just don't go in the water if they are reporting rip currents. >> if they are reporting it, look for the red flags and talk to those who are experienced and talk to those who know the area well like the curvers who are there, right? >> if the flags are up, the best thing is just enjoy the beach. go for a walk and enjoy the sight. probably not a good idea to go into the water. >> i could do that all day myself. i like your advice.

appreciate it, ellen. new information to tell you about on arthur at the top of the how are you. first the rest of today's headlines and fourth of july message from president obama. ♪ it elicits pride... ...incites envy... ♪ ...and unleashes wrath. ♪ temptation comes in many heart-pounding forms. but only one letter. "f". the performance marque from lexus.

welcome back. we will have the latest on arthur in a second. other stories making news. the president's fourth of july address. >> i want to say a special thanks to the men and women of our armed forces and the families who serve with them, especially those service members who spent this most american of holiday serving your country far from home. you keep us safe and you keep the united states of america shining beacon of hope for the world. and, for that, you and your families deserve not only the appreciation of a grateful nation, but our enduring commitment to serve you as well as you have served us. god bless you all and have a great weekend. >> that was part of the president's independence day address. pentagon leaders insisting 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 and the troops not part of combat operations and dempsey adding the militants are stretched thin trying to hold the cities they have already seized. the employment picture in the u.s. is bright. 28 8,000 new jobs added and sent the stocks surging. 6.1% unemployment. the u.s. could be making stronger progress if washington focused on 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 telling nbc news a request of $30 million for border enforcement went unanswered.

more than 52,000 unaccompanied children have crossed the border since october 1st and that number grows. hurricane arthur now to our top story. flooding the world of social media. we have been watching a lot of those reports and those that happen right around eight hours ago when the center of arthur hit the coast. our nbc affiliate justin kissenberry had this vine and took it in moorehead, north carolina. arthur just hitting at least the center of arthur just hitting where he was reporting from in moorehead city, north carolina. he has had about 67,000 people watching that loop. then there was this coming from meteorology students. they were at a gas station three hours after the center of the storm had hit landfall. at the gas station seeing that wind and there were reports of wind damage in the area of

raleigh. trees down in that section of the state. then the troubles that we had in our broadcasting world of getting out basically our signal and jim cantore signal at his satellite truck struggling a couple times. look closely to this tweet. he put this out three hours ago saying, the reason we have trouble getting on air is the 80-mile-an-hour gusts pushing the bird or the satellite as they call it from the satellite truck and not having trouble, an astronaut miles up into the sky. astronaut reed wiseman on the international space station taking a break to tweet this out of arthur. what reed said in his tweet was, good to see you again, arthur. looks like you've grown an eye since i last saw you. yes, because arthur became a category two and became a

hurricane yesterday. kevin g. davis tweed this. this is washington, d.c. you guys have to be looking out for the effects of arthur. this was at amtrak station and they get ready to celebrate july fourth up in the sky. then dean norris. he played hank schrader on "breaking bad." he posted this. >> get harry out here! hurricane crazy! i don't know if i can take it shrm. >> then his family as they pan the camera over, like what is dad doing here? he is being an actor is what he is doing. he is spoofing absolutely what reporters are doing out when they are reporting as we have been going up and down the coast. it's been difficult in some spaces. he is getting a nice july fourth laugh. there is concerns of wind. those 100-mile-an-hour plus reports of wind up and down the outer banks of north carolina. we will be going back to them at

the top of the hour. we have a lot ahead on hurricane arthur and what is happening today. if you are in the northeast, what you need to be looking out for if you're in new jersey, in new york, or in the state of massachusetts, we have got the latest for you. bill karins, our msnbc meteorologist, will be back with us shortly. stick with us on msnbc.

a very good july fourth to you all. i'm richard lui. arthur making a landfall a category two storm last night hitting the outer banks of north carolina. the first hurricane of 2014 and the atlantic season knocking out power to thousands in the state. many residents and fourth of july tourists along the north

carolina coast boarded up and packed up and got out before the storm hit. take a listen. >> i want to be safe with the kids. you know? i don't want to sit here with the wind and possible flooding. >> the wind is going on to be bad but we will be okay. our house is still standing. we have been coming to hours a long time. 20 years. we will be arthur. >> hurricane arthur, the earliest hurricane to hit north carolina since records began in 1851. there in north carolina, nbc sarah dollof is in kill devil hills, north carolina. we have seen all kinds of different conditions from you, sarah, from wind, then it was quiet. you are expecting some sun perhaps later on this afternoon but tell us about what you're seeing now. >> if you promise, richard, there will be some later. right now we have seen the rain stop within the last ten minutes and starting to clear up a little bit. we don't have that sideways rain coming at us. the winds have died down