My son, who's in the Marines, is stationed at Camp LeJeune, NC. He is living off-base in Jacksonville.

Being that I've never had first-hand experience in a hurricane, we are quite concerned that he has not yet left the area to start heading farther west. The other guys that he lives with have no intentions of leaving and my son said he's only planning on driving 100 miles west. His grandmother thinks he should go more like 200 miles.

Is there anyone here from the area and could you share with me anything else I could possibly say to him to get the HECK out of there like now???

My two son's live in/near Wilmington, NC and both are planning to stay at this point. They have both been through a hurricane before (Katrina) and know what it can do. The reports they are getting is that the winds for them will be about 75 mph. I wish they'd evacuate, but they are grown with their own families and are doing what they feel is best. Praying for all those in the path.

I have an aunt and uncle in their 80s just west of Atlantic City, NJ. The evacuation line is literally feet from their house. They're staying.

My brother evacuated south of Houston the last time they had a hurricane. There was minimal damage. He lost 12 feet of his privacy fence, but that was it. His neighbor around 2 or 3 blocks down litterally had the entire roof blown off their house. I'm not talking just a few shingles. I mean the roof itself was gone and the inside destroyed.

It's a cr@p shoot.

They're saying Irene is the same size as Katrina......and that it's likely that it's picking up steam over the warm waters of the ocean.

If the estimations are correct, the Jacksonville and Wilmington areas will be the first landfall that will be hit.....excepting the Outer Banks, that is. This is expected in roughly 14 hours from now.

Ugh!!!

My parents stayed in Pensacola at home during Ivan. They said they would never do that again. It sounded like a jet engine sitting on top of their home for hours - the wind was so strong. Mostly fence, tree damage, and some roof but not too severely. They don't live by any body of water either. Those who did had water in their homes and were climbing on the roof so they wouldn't drown in their own homes.

I would have to say, how close are they to the water and how many trees are near their home?

I'm in New England/MA but not the coast so I'm not sure how much impact the central part of the state will get. Regardless, taking in deck furniture, pool toys, hanging plants, etc.

Lived in NC when a hurricane went through. Won't do that again. When you look outside and the pine trees are almost horizonal, it's scary. The wind howled like crazy.

The Marine bases will shut down at some point if the hurricane is close enough. Anyone on base will not be able to leave and anyone off will not be able to go aboard.

My ex, the chicken, was on base and my baby and I were off. Told him that if another one came while we were there, I was heading for south GA for the duration.

Hang in there everyone in the path!

He says their home is about a 1/2 hr drive from the ocean. I don't believe that's far enough away to be safe. I have no idea how many trees they have around them.

All my family lives in Massachusetts, most on Cape Cod. Prayers to all in Irene's path.

*raises hand*

^^Has enough aquanet so that her hair will remain upright regardless of wind.


Seriously though. Be careful to all of you and your families in Irene's path.

She has downgraded to a 2 and they think she will be down to a 1 by the time she hits Jersey.

Getting a lot of wind here in Columbia, SC, but I think that is all we are going to get. Looks like the outer bands are starting to drop some heavy rain on the SC and NC coasts. Good Luck to everyone in her path.

Everyone must be in the path. Our gas prices went up 40 cents today because of Irene. George Bush must be to blame

Same area as PQ, and based on the most recent forecast, it is supposed to cut right through New England.

Just throw the deck furniture in the pool. It will sink and be safe. wind damage/tornados that spawn off of the eastern side most destructive.

My son is in Virginia Beach under partial evacuation, but when they say he has to leave, he will head to the hospital where he is an RN. Right now he is going to get as much sleep as possible. He has a wonderful friend who took his dog with her to higher ground.
My daughter and son-in-law are in NYC area. Son-in-law already at his firehouse near LaGuardia; daughter and 3 yr old grandson opening their place in the Bronx to evacuated friends.
While this is out of everyone's control,prayers are always appreciated. Thanks!!

Best wishes and prayers to all those in Irene's path, from the outer banks to New Jersey, New York and New England.

Y'all be safe this weekend, and we look forward to a good report next week!

We're catching a breeze from her, but it's hotter than all heck...I'd love some of the rain bands to travel this far...had a tiny one last night, but that was all.

I'm five floors up, in a corner apartment. The worst is the wind. I'll be running around stuffing rags in the window wells.

Wow! 11:55 PM Saturday. They say as Irene moved over NC she shifted inland just a bit. I haven't seen rain like this in a long time.

Deek - EdAudit - HG - Minion - and everyone else in Irene's path - Keep Safe!

Check in time!

Southern NH-decent amount of wind and rain, but nothing serious. A lot of power outages around the area. Looks like it went further west than orginally expected.

Southern Maine - like NH, some power outages, lots of wind and rain, but not the show-stopper we expected.

DQ and Minion will not be at work today. The town their office is in is heavily flooded, with mandatory evacuations in effect. The town is advising all businesses in town NOT to open today or tomorrow.

Other towns in North Jersey are also heavily flooded. I saw on the news this morning a house that was on fire, and the fire department couldn't get closer than 4 blocks away because of the flooding. Firemen waded through chest-deep water to see if anyone was in the house. They had to just let it burn to the ground.

The governor was actually urging people not to go to work today.