Tornado Watches, Heavy Rains Move In

Here's the latest on Irene from the NBC10 Weather Team.

A tornado watch has been issued for all of Delaware and South Jersey until 8 p.m. as Hurricane Irene makes her way up the East Coast.

With the rain moving in fast, the Philadelphia area could see anywhere from 8 to 15 inches fall. While weakening a bit over Friday night, Hurricane Irene continued to be a dangerous storm. 

Irene was moving north-northeast along the Eastern Seaboard and was expected to remain dangerous when it reached the Philadelphia and New Jersey area on Saturday night and early Sunday morning.

The Category 1 hurricane measured 500 to 600 miles wide. Regardless of whether Irene arrives to the area as a Category 1 hurricane, with wind speeds of at least 74 mph at the center, or a tropical storm, with wind speeds of 39 to 73 mph, it will likely cause flooding. Just 2 inches of rain could cause flooding as August has been the wettest month ever recorded in Philadelphia with more than 13 inches so far. It's possible that 2 inches of rain could fall within a single hour during the worst of the storm. 

Tornado watches have been issued for Delaware and South Jersey until 8 p.m. Parts of the I-95 corridor could receive 8 to 10 inches of rains, according to the latest models.

A dangerous storm surge remains a concern down the shore.

Showers will dot the area at times during Saturday. The rain should become steadier and heavier at night and into Sunday morning. The heaviest rains are expected overnight into Sunday.

Downed trees and power lines could be a problem even if winds wind up being about 50 to 60 mph.

No matter what happens most people surely did their best to avoid catastrophe as droves left the Jersey Shore and Delaware Beaches as mandatory evacuations were enacted.


Fan, follow and download: Get the latest from NBCPhiladelphia.com anytime, anywhere. Follow NBC10 Earthwatch on Facebook. Sign up for our weather newsletter. And, get weather forecasts delivered right to your mobile phone -- just text PHIWEATHER to 639710 to sign up. (Message and data rates may apply.)

Contact Us