Irene Has Potential To Shake Hands With SE United States

Tropical Storm Irene has formed in the Eastern Caribbean and is expected to reach Hurricane strength within 48 hours. Most guidance tracks suggest the storm will head to the west over Hispaniola (Dominican Republic/Haiti) and then take a more northerly track. Currently models project that the storm system will probably affect the Southeastern United States as a strong tropical storm or a Category 1 or 2 hurricane. This system has the potential to bring "weather" to Georgia and the Carolina's from Sunday to Monday, the last weekend in August.

Irene's strength will largely be dependent on how much intensity the storm will lose as it passes over the Hispaniola's mountainous terrain and how quickly it recoups before it's expected to make initial landfall in Florida. Emerging over some of the warmest waters in the Caribbean rapid intensification is possible.
With three tropical systems in play in the Atlantic and moving into the most active month of the Hurricane season, make sure you keep abreast of the tropical forecasts. If you haven't done so, make sure any emergency supplies are well stocked. Two websites I monitor are the Weather Underground's Tropical Weather page and Accuweather. I'm re-posting the East of the Cooper Blog's Hurricane Prep Guide below. It's designed to print on both sides of an 8.5 x 11" sheet of paper. I have had no problems with tropical storms since I started using this wonderful guide.