In a break from activity in the North Atlantic, hurricane watchers like us here at econnexus.org.uk are now suddenly turning their attention to the Eastern Pacific.  At 21:00 UTC last night the National Hurricane Center announced that:

More on Hurricane Jova Threatens Major Misery in Mexico

The September 7th overview of the North Atlantic from the National Hurricane Centre shows two red storms apart from Hurricane Katia:

North Atlantic tropical cyclone activity at 10:57 AM on Wednesday September 7th 2011

More on Maria Makes Her Appearance. Death Tolls Rise Elsewhere.

In their most recent public advisory bulletin at 11:00 PM EDT last night the National Hurricane Centre said that:

IRENE BECOMES POST-TROPICAL NEAR THE U.S./CANADIAN BORDER. THE TROPICAL STORM WARNING FOR THE EAST COAST OF THE UNITED STATES HAS BEEN DISCONTINUED.

More on What Would Happen if Wall Street Were Under Water?

In their interim 9 AM EDT public advisory bulletin the National Hurricane Centre said that:

CENTER OF IRENE MOVES OVER NEW YORK CITY

REPORTS FROM AN AIR FORCE HURRICANE HUNTER AIRCRAFT AND NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATE THAT THE CENTER OF IRENE MOVED OVER NEW YORK CITY AROUND 900 AM EDT, 1300 UTC. IRENE HAS WEAKENED TO A TROPICAL STORM AND THE ESTIMATED INTENSITY AT LANDFALL WAS 65 MPH

By 11 AM the NHC were reporting that:

More on Irene Weakens to Tropical Storm Force, but Millions of Lights are Still Out

In their 8 AM EDT public advisory bulletin the National Hurricane Centre say that the:

CENTER OF IRENE NEARING NEW YORK CITY

whilst the warnings they issued at 2 AM remain much the same. The models used by surf forecasting website MagicSeaweed suggest that the eye of the storm is currently passing almost directly over New York City, accompanied by strong onshore winds:

More on Centre of Irene Nearing New York City – Oyster Creek Reactor Shut Down

This morning's first public advisory bulletin from the National Hurricane Center places the eye of Hurricane Irene "About 195 miles south-southwest of New York City" and warns that:

AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS STORM SURGE WILL RAISE WATERLEVELS BY AS MUCH AS 4 TO 8 FEET ABOVE GROUND LEVEL WITHIN THE HURRICANE WARNING AREA FROM THE NORTH CAROLINA/VIRGINIA BORDER NORTHWARD TO CAPE COD INCLUDING SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF THE CHESAPEAKE BAY AND ITS TRIBUTARIES. NEAR THE COAST THE SURGE WILL BE ACCOMPANIED BY LARGE DESTRUCTIVE AND LIFE-THREATENING WAVES. HIGHER THAN NORMAL ASTRONOMICAL TIDES ARE OCCURRING THIS WEEKEND. COASTAL AND RIVER FLOODING WILL BE HIGHEST IN AREAS WHERE THE PEAK SURGE OCCURS AROUND THE TIME OF HIGH TIDE. STORM TIDE AND SURGE VALUES ARE VERY LOCATION-SPECIFIC AND USERS ARE URGED TO CONSULT PRODUCTS ISSUED BY THEIR LOCAL NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICES.

More on Storm Surge and Tornados From Hurricane Irene Threaten New York

As Hurricane Irene moves at 13 miles per hour north north east along the eastern seaboard of the Unites States massive power outages are following in its wake. Here's how North Carolina looks at 1:30 PM EDT:

More on Electric Power Outages Spread North in Irene's Wake

According to the National Hurricane Center:

The eye of Irene made landfall near Cape Lookout, North Carolina around 7:30 AM EDT

The residents of North Carolina won't need me to remind them of that fact even if they are able to read my words, since large numbers of them are currently without mains electricity.  Here's a snapshot of the online outage map provided to their customers in the Carolinas by Progress Energy:

More on Carolinas Lose Power as Hurricane Irene Hits Land

I've been blogging for some years now about the apparently increasing impact of North Atlantic hurricanes, and in particular their effect on one of the poorest nations on the planet, Haiti.  Today Hurricane Irene has left Haiti in its wake, and according to the United Nations this time around:

More on Hurricane Irene Spares Haiti, but Threatens the United States

The earthquake that killed over 250,000 people in Haiti struck one year ago. Since then a lot of funding has been promised, and a lot of projects have been started, but a huge amount remains to be done.

More on The Haiti Earthquake – One Year On