Irene as the wind cranks up

The wind has started to kick up after about 5 hrs of steady if not heavy rainfall. At this time the eye is still in NC but will be crossing the VA line soon and in Virgina Beach in about 1.5 hrs.

We are fortunate that the direction of the wind is pushing the water out of our cove and what might be a 4-5 tidal surge at high tide will only be about 2-3'.

There are reports of wide spread power outages and in our area and including the Richmond area about 500,000 home with out electricity.