Hurricane Irene May Roll in This Weekend

Hurricane Irene — presently a category three hurricane centered southeast of the Bahamas — could roll into the region late this weekend, if National Weather Service projections hold.

The National Hurricane Center's latest warning cone indicates Irene may affect New York late Sunday or early Monday, with the storm potentially still at hurricane strength when it passes through.

As of 5 a.m. Wednesday, Irene's maximum sustained winds were at 110 mph, with hurricane force winds extending up to 40 miles from the center. The storm was expected to intensify as it makes a gradual turn to the northwest today, forecasters said.

No warnings were in effect for the U.S. mainland as of Wednesday morning, but the hurricane center expects the storm to pass along the Eastern Seaboard this weekend.

The center also gives Westchester and Putnam Counties a 20-30 percent chance of experiencing tropical storm-force winds between now and 2 a.m. Monday.

"Heavy rain, strong winds, and coastal flooding could begin as early as late Saturday," the NWS warns. "Additional impacts from this system could be significant beach erosion [and] high surf with dangerous rip currents, which could begin as early as Friday night as large swells from Irene begin to arrive."

Patch will have more information as it becomes available.