4:45 PM | Stormy night now just getting underway for DC, Philly and New York

Discussion

A very stormy night is just now getting underway for the Mid-Atlantic that will feature torrential rain and damaging winds as Irene slowly works its way up the coast. Interestingly, the center of Irene will likely shortly move back over water as it moves from the northeastern coastal region of North Carolina to the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. This will help to maintain its current strength as a category 1 storm. Some interesting wind gust observations at 4PM are as follows: Reagan National Airport, DC - 37 mph, Camp Springs, Maryland - 39 mph, Dulles Airport, Virginia - 28 mph, Dover, Delaware - 38 mph, Stafford, Virginia - 32 mph and Salisbury, Maryland - 49 mph. All of these cities were also reporting heavy rain at 4PM and these strong winds and heavy rain bands are headed north. In fact, a very impressive rain band is now moving northwest from New Jersey towards the Philadelphia metropolitan region so heavy rain can be expected there shortly. The rain and wind will pick up in intensity over the next several hours and widespread flooding problems and power outages can be expected by morning.