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Hurricane Irene Nearing The East Coast

BOSTON (CBS) - We will see one more quiet day before starting to feel more and more of the effects of Hurricane Irene.

The coast of southern New England is now under a Hurricane Watch, while most of the rest of the region is under a Tropical Storm Watch.

Hurricane Irene: Check Latest Satellite Images | Tracking Map

Sunshine today will be accompanied by temperatures in the 80s and humidity on the high side.

Check: Interactive Radar | Current Conditions | Weather Map Center

A flood watch has been issued for our viewing area from Saturday evening through Saturday night.  Currently, there is a moderate to high risk for rip currents.

Watch Melissa's forecast:

Hurricane Irene is forecasted to make landfall along the northern/central coast of North Carolina on Saturday as a CAT 2 or 3.

This is going to be the beginning of the weakening of 'Irene'.

Then, she will hug the coastline as she passes near Washington D.C., Philadelphia, the New Jersey coast, and NYC along the I-95 corridor.

The weakening process will be induced by the interaction with land and the entrance into cooler ocean water.

At that point, 'Irene' will be a CAT 1 or 2.

Then, 'Irene, will make landfall in southern New England by Sunday evening.

Most likely, the storm will be a CAT 1 at that point and will weaken quickly once it makes landfall here.

The heart of the storm will be during the day Sunday through early Sunday night.

The current track has the eye of the storm between Springfield and Worcester, which would put us in the geographic location that would receive the highest winds.

Since we will be at an astronomically high tide during this time period, there will be the threat to storm surge of 10-15 ft and coastal flooding, especially along the South Coast (Buzzard's Bay)/Cape/Islands.

The heaviest rain would fall across western New England as long as the storm's track doesn't shift.

***Keep updated with the latest forecast by following us on Twitter (@WBZweather) and checking out our Facebook page.

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