With Hurricane Irene on the way, bands of torrential rain are hitting Monmouth and Ocean counties and winds are picking up.
Irene is expected to pass very close to the New Jersey coast late tonight into Sunday morning, with gusts to nearly 100 mph over coastal waters, dangerous flooding and severe beach erosion expected, according to the National Weather Service.
As of 7 p.m., Irene’s maximum sustained winds were 80 mph, with higher gusts, making it a Category 1 storm, according to the National Hurricane Center.
The large storm was about 210 miles south-southwest of Atlantic City and heading north-northeast at close to 16 mph, according to hurricane center.
Irene is forecast to remain a hurricane as it moves near or over the mid-Atlantic states and approaches New England, according to the center.
A map shows the hurricane’s center making landfall in the Atlantic City area, cruising east of the Garden State Parkway and then moving over the ocean in the Sea Girt area.
Gary Szatkowski, meteorologist in charge of the National Weather Service Mount Holly office, said “it’s a very serious situation. It’s a hurricane that’s going to have major impact on New Jersey and people need to stay safe through the event.”
David A. Robinson, the New Jersey state climatologist at Rutgers University, said “I think there’s still a formidable coastal threat. There’s certainly (a) formidable wind threat, and I’m absolutely concerned about inland flooding.”
The storm is expected to be almost at Sandy Hook by 8 a.m. Sunday, meaning it will be moving faster than forecast on Friday, he said.
That means the tide will be rising as the hurricane is coming up the coast, with winds shifting to the northwest in South Jersey by high tide, he said.
“So it’s probably better news for South Jersey than North Jersey,” he said. The timing now is “certainly not favoring the north Jersey coast,” he said.
Meanwhile, a tornado watch is in effect until 8 p.m. today in Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland, Salem, Monmouth, Middlesex, Burlington and Ocean counties.
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
