Tracking Hurricane Irene: Up-to-the-Minute Storm Updates

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A driver gives up afterrealizing that the flood water is too deep for his car on S. Philadelphia Ave. in Ocean City, Maryland. (Karl Merton Ferron / Baltimore Sun / MCT / Getty Images)

TIME follows the eye of the potentially devastating hurricane as she makes landfall on the eastern coast of the United States. Refresh this page to see the latest on Irene’s path and destruction. See TIME’s coverage of Day 2 of Irene.

This live blog is being discontinued for the day. Please follow our Sunday live blog of Hurricane Irene’s path on NewsFeed.

10:27 p.m. EDT: New York mayor Michael Bloomberg speaks in a late-night press conference as the storm begins to hit the city: “A tornado watch, just to make life more complicated, is in effect until 5 a.m.” In firmly trying to keep control of the population, he said firmly, “Everyone should now go inside and stay inside until conditions improve, which likely won’t be until Sunday afternoon.” “It’s cute to say ‘I was outside during the storm,’ but you should probably just stay inside.”

10:21 p.m. EDT: “You guys, the lights in our apartment just flickered. IRENE, SHE’S HERE.” – @winterjessica, TIME Arts Editor. See New York City’s hurricane livestream.

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9:44 p.m. EDT: Two tornadoes have been spotted on the ground, one in southeast Delaware and another on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.

9:16 p.m. EDT: Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell confirms that three peoplehave died so far in his state as Irene plows its way up the Atlantic coast.

Sea foam blows onto the boardwalk as Hurricane Irene arrives causing heavy surf on August 27, 2011 in Ocean City, Maryland. (Mark Wilson / Getty Images)

7:51 p.m. EDT: Irene is churning about 35 miles southeast of Norfolk, Va. with winds of up to 80 mph. Its directional speed has increased to 16 mph on a north-northeasterly path toward Philadelphia and New York, according to the Associated Press.

7:45 p.m. EDT: As New York residents reel from the city’s first-ever weather-related subway shutdown, the DC Metro announces its decision to keep running on a normal weekend schedule right through the storm.

7:09 p.m. EDT: Hurricane Irene re-emerges over the Atlantic Ocean, the National Hurricane Center says. It’s expected to remain a hurricane when it makes landfall again near Long Beach, N.Y. on Long Island.

Workers at a residential building in the financial district of downtown Manhattan stack sand bags in anticipation of flood waters in the hours before Hurricane Irene's arrival, Saturday, Aug. 27, 2011. (John Minchillo / AP)

6:12 p.m. EDT: North Carolina governor Bev Perdue confirms the state’s fourth storm-related fatality. MSNBC reports a child died in a car accident caused by a traffic light outage.

5:57 p.m. EDT: The New York City subway system is not expected to resume until “late Monday afternoon,” Mayor Bloomberg says. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey says flights at all New York area airports will be grounded as of 10 p.m. Saturday and last through Sunday.

Louis Leichtnam from Paris plays football barefoot on a deserted Broadway as Hurricane Irene approaches on August 27, 2011 in New York City. (Mario Tama / Getty Images)

5:27 p.m. EDT: The storm’s death toll is now at six, according to MSNBC. A surfer died Saturday after being knocked off his board in New Smyrna Beach, Fla. Three people were confirmed dead in North Carolina, a tree fell on a car in Virginia, killing its occupant, and a boy died in Virginia after a tree fell on an apartment complex.

4:48 p.m. EDT: More than half of the Richmond, Va. metro area is without power, according to NBC 12. A total of 550,000 people are impacted by widespread outages across Virginia.

4:25 p.m. EDT: Nearly 1 million residents of North Carolina and Virginia are now out of power because of Hurricane Irene, CNN reports.

3:56 p.m. EDT: New York’s Metropolitan Transit Authority tweeted this picture, which shows Grand Central Station completely cleared out as the storm approached. (Flickr, via @MTAInsider)

MTA

3:41 p.m. EDT: Connecticut has issued a landslide alert has been issued in anticipation of Irene’s heavy rains. (via NBC Connecticut)

3:14 p.m. EDT: President Obama met with FEMA officials today and made a statement about Irene. “It’s going to be a long 72 hours,” he said, but he noted that local, state and federal workers are cooperating to fight storm damage.

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3:00 p.m. EDT: The death toll from the storm has now reached four. According to CNN, officials reported that a boy was killed in Newport News, Va. after a tree crashed into an apartment complex. Three others died earlier in North Carolina.

2:20 p.m. EDT: A familiar sight during hurricane season: The Weather Channel’s Eric Fisher weathers harsh winds in Virgina Beach, Va. (via NBC Washington)

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2:08 p.m. EDT: New Jersey mayor Chris Christie reports in a live news conference that more than 1 million people have been evacuated from low-lying areas at the Jersey Shore. “People heeded my subtle warning to leave the beach,” he said. Christie also noted that more than 98% of people have been evacuated from Cape May county.

2:02 p.m. EDT: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration releases a photo of Irene in its raw, grayscale form, showing her fury.

Irene's wide-reaching bands swirl over North Carolina as the storm moves north-northeast at 15 mph (Photo: NOAA)

1:26 p.m. EDT: Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano warned Americans not to underestimate a Category 1 storm, the Los Angeles Times reports. “If you’re in a hurricane, you’re in a hurricane,” she said during a briefing at FEMA headquarters. She and other FEMA officials warned of heavy rains, flooding, tornadoes and power outages up and down the East Coast.

1:18 p.m. EDT: More than 12 hours before the storm’s actual arrival, “New Yorkers have begun to feel Irene’s fury,” writes the New York Post. Subways and buses have ground to a halt and shelves are picked clean of water and other shut-in essentials.

A sign hangs on plastic tape blocking the entrance to the Chambers St. subway station in New York City. (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)

12:44 p.m. EDT: Climate Central has created a map depicting the areas of downtown Manhattan, New Jersey and Brooklyn that are within five vertical feet of the average high tide line, toward the upper range of storm surge heights the NOAA is predicting. Nearly 250,000 people live within this blue range. Find more information, and a larger version of the image, at their website.

Climate Central

12:00 p.m. EDT: Strong winds and high waves have taken down a pier at Atlantic Beach in North Carolina’s Outer Banks.

11:50 a.m. EDT: Hurricane Irene has claimed its first life. A man was killed when a tree or branch fell on him in Nash County, N.C. when he went outside to feed his animals. WRAL also reports a man is missing in the Cape Fear River.

11:25 a.m. EDT: Con Edison, the utility company that provides power to New York City, says that they may shut power to flood-prone areas in Lower Manhattan to avoid damage. “If salt water gets into the underground cables and those cables are carrying electricity, there is a real chance of damage to those lines,” New York mayor Michael Bloomberg said.

Waves crash into Avalon Pier as Hurricane strikes the Outer Banks in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina on 27 August 2011 (Photos: Jim Lo Scalzo / EPA)

10:55 a.m. EDT: MSNBC reports Irene’s hurricane-force winds extend 90 miles from her eye, even after making landfall, pointing to signs of a storm maintaining its strength. They also report a tornado touching down in southern Virginia.

10:30 a.m. EDT: Hoboken’s mayor says all bars must stop serving tonight at 8 p.m.

10:15 a.m. EDT: New York residents are preparing for an imminent 12 noon shutdown of the entire subway system. A number of New York City supermarkets are reporting shortages of bottled water, and TIME’s Tim Morrison reports that a local Lowe’s has sold out of sand for sandbags.

9:50 a.m. EDT: 200,000 people are reported without power along the North Carolina coastline as Irene continues her run up the coast.

8:45 a.m. EDT : Hurricane-force winds and heavy rains hit North Carolina’s coast Saturday morning. The National Hurricane Center says the storm’s maximum sustained winds hit 85 mph, down from about 100 mph on Friday.

7:45 a.m. EDT: The National Hurricane Center says Irene’s center has made landfall over North Carolina. Maximum winds are 90 mph. More here.

7:00 a.m. EDT: There are reports of power outages in North Carolina as Hurricane Irene rushes toward the state, battering the coast with heavy wind and rain.

6:15 a.m. EDT: Strong winds and heavy rain lash North Carolina as the storm churns toward the coast. Irene is expected to hit after daybreak.

5:00 a.m. EDT: Hurricane Irene’s is expected to make landfall in North Carolina in the next few hours after weakening slightly to a Category 1 storm.

4:00 a.m. EDT: Forecasters say Hurricane Irene, which weakened to a Category 1 storm, was still dangerous as it approached the U.S. coast. It’s about 50 miles south off Cape Lookout, N.C.

1:05 a.m. EDT: North Carolina officials say they expect an 11 foot storm surge, water strong enough to rip away beaches and likely causing damage to coastal homes.

12:30 a.m. EDT: Hurricane Irene expected to make landfall at 7 a.m. near Beaufort, N.C., bringing winds upwards of 100 mph. Irene is still classified as a Category 2 hurricane.

12:00 a.m. EDT: More than 2.5 million people have been evacuated on the east coast of the United States from New York to North Carolina. 1 million New Jersey residents were ordered away from the coastline. The New York City subway system and commuter rail lines in New Jersey and Pennsylvania will be shut at noon Saturday.

(Read “Welcome to the Era of the Everyday Billion-Dollar Disaster”)

Boarded-up windows in Montauk, N.Y. (Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)