Gabrielle 'Going to Get Gnarly'

(NEWSER) - Gabrielle made a relatively tame landfall—with top winds hitting the 50 mph mark—on North Carolina's coast today at 11:45am, reports CNN. It's more a relief than a worry for the drought-stricken region, but storm surge flooding of up to 3 feet was possible. The storm was to turn northeast tonight, heading back out into the Atlantic. More»

It carries new sand to the area, which helps prevent it from eroding

(NEWSER) - It's counterintuitive, but it's true, says a Duke University geology professor. Hurricane Irene "is just what" the Outer Banks need. In a conversation with the Los Angeles Times , Orrin Pilkey acknowledges the many, many downsides of the storm: "We are going to see an awful lot of buildings destroyed and an awful lot of buildings damaged." Wildlife will drown. Salt carried by the waves will kill vegetation. And yet, this kind of storm is what allows these islands to survive. More»

Storm expected to wallop southeast tomorrow

(NEWSER) - Frightened North Carolinians fleeing Irene are jamming highways as the East Coast steels for what could be the biggest hurricane in decades. At least seven states have now declared a state of emergency, and hundreds of flights are being canceled. Gas stations are running out of fuel and ATMs have been emptied of cash as Americans hit the road for a bumper-to-bumper trip out of Irene's angry path. The Category 3 storm is expected to hit the Southeast sometime tomorrow, and hundreds of thousands of residents have been ordered out of their homes in three North Carolina counties. Norfolk, Va., is also ordering residents to evacuate , and Washington, DC, has been forced to postpone Sunday's planned MLK Memorial dedication . More»

Landfall expected on East Coast this weekend

(NEWSER) - Tourists started evacuating the North Carolina border island of Ocracoke today, as Hurricane Irene strengthened to a Category 3 storm and headed toward the East Coast. A local tells the AP evacuations are going smoothly so far. Year-round residents were ordered to begin evacuating tomorrow . Irene’s winds neared 120mph this afternoon, and the hurricane is expected to get stronger tomorrow, possibly reaching Category 4 with winds of 131mph or more. US cities as far north as Rhode Island and Massachusetts are preparing for the storm; officials have warned of possible flooding, power outages, and worse as far north as Maine. More»

Storm could be Cat 4 monster by the time it reaches coast

(NEWSER) - North Carolina is bracing for what could be the strongest storm to hit the state since 1998's Hurricane Bonnie. Thousands of people have been ordered to leave the barrier island Ocracoke as Hurricane Irene, currently a Category 2 storm but expected to strengthen further, moves toward the coast, the AP reports. Tourists have been told to get off the island today; Ocracoke's 800 or so year-round residents have been told to leave tomorrow. Forecasters expect the storm to hit the Carolina coast on the weekend, possibly as a Category 4, and move up the coast to the Northeast. More»