Latest hurricane forecasts, warnings, closures & cancellations
The latest forecast calls for Hurricane Irene to bring winds of about 80 mph and dump six to 12 inches of rain in the region, according to the National Weather Service, which has issued a flood warning.
Where the hurricane will make landfall is still uncertain, but the current track has it hitting somewhere near New York City or western Long Island,Brian Ciemnecki, a Weather Service meteorologist in Upton, said Friday morning.
Tropical storm-force winds are expected to start hitting Long Island late Saturday, with hurricane conditions persisting from Sunday morning into early Sunday evening, officials said.
The storm is expected to keep traveling north through Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine. The storm would weaken as it travels over land.
As of Thursday morning, Irene was 375 southwest of Cape Hatteras, N.C. It is expected make landfall there Saturday.
VIDEO: See Irene’s time-lapse imagery
Mr. Ciemnecki said there is still a chance the hurricane, now expected to be a category I when it hits Long Island, could be downgraded to a tropical storm by the time it reaches us.
Still, a storm serge and erosion is expected, though “it’s still too early to determined the exact heights of combined storm surge and tide waters for specific locations,” read the National Weather Service’s flood warning. “Much depends on the precise size, intensity and track of the system as it approaches the coast.”
It reads that based on the forecast, there is a potential for “several feet of surge, particularly in western Long Island Sound, New York Harbor and the back shore bays of Long Island and New York City. These tidal conditions would be exacerbated by battering surf and winds as…Irene moves closer.”
CLOSINGS, CANCELLATIONS
A country and western concert scheduled for the Peconic Riverfront this weekend has been cancelled due to the weather forecast, according to Riverhead Business Improvement District officials who organized the event.
The Jamesport Fire Department-sponsored “Sound to Bay” 10K has now been cancelled, organizers said. A new date will be determined later.
All town parks and beaches are closed throughout the weekend, beginning at noon Friday.
The movie night event at the South Jamesport Beach Saturday night (“Jaws II”) has been rescheduled for Sept. 10.
The News-Review team is continually updating this story throughout the day; check back for weather updates, warnings, closings and cancellations.
SEE ALL NEWS-REVIEW HURRICANE COVERAGE:
Town officials prep for possible evacuations
A look back the hurricane of 1938
Slide show: Newspaper photos from Hurricane Gloria
Initial storm coverage: ‘Irene has Long Island in the crosshairs’
North Fork farms could lose millions if hurricane hits
Column: Storm may force us to actually interact with one another
