Following the first day of evacuations from a tiny North Carolina barrier island, forecasters announced that Hurricane Irene could become a Category 4 monster by Thursday.
Late Wednesday, the National Hurricane Center said Irene is approaching the northwestern Bahamas as a Category 3 storm with winds at 120 mph, short of the 131 mph winds needed to become a Category 4.
Forecasters say Irene’s winds could increase quickly over the next day as the storm moves farther on its path toward the U.S.
Hurricane and tropical storm watches will likely be required for parts of the southeastern U.S. coast by early Thursday, but officials in North Carolina’s coastal Dare County have already ordered as many as 150,000 tourists to leave beginning that morning.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Navy order the Second Fleet to prepare to move ships out of Irene’s path. The Navy said that the order applies to ships in southeastern Virginia, home to the largest naval base in the world.
The Navy says Irene’s current track shows destructive winds and a dangerous storm surge are predicted to hit the area.
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