Hurricane Irene Could Mean Weekend Rain, Wind in Phoenixville

Hurricane Irene is moving over the Bahamas and hurricane and tropical storm watches have been issued for part of the East Coast.

Irene still threatens heavy rain and gusty winds for the Philadelphia area this weekend.

The latest forecast track from the National Hurricane Center projects Irene will pass well offshore of the east coast of central and north Florida Thursday night and early Friday. Irene, which is still a Category 3 hurricane, is expected to make landfall in coastal North Carolina on Saturday afternoon.

Coastal North Carolina is now under a hurricane watch, which means hurricane conditions are possible within 48 hours. That hurricane watch extends from Surf City north to the Virginia border.

Coastal South Carolina and part of coastal North Carolina are under a tropical storm watch, which means tropical storm conditions are possible within 48 hours. That tropical storm watch extends from Edisto Beach, SC, to Surf City, NC.

The National Weather Service says that the current storm watches will probably evolve into warnings later today. A watch means that the weather condition is expected, but not imminent; while a warning means that the weather condition is imminent or occurring.

AccuWeather.com Meteorologist Steve Travis said Irene should reach the Phoenixville area late Saturday night and continue through Sunday afternoon.

"We expect the storm to start getting pretty close to the east coast later this weekend," he said and added Saturday will be windy.

The hurricane could bring 35 mph wind gusts and up to three inches of water, Travis said.

Weather conditions from Irene should improve by sunset on Sunday, he said.

But precipitation from the storm, which will follow more rainfall predicted for Thursday, could be a problem for an already soaked Phoenixville.

Low lying and poor drainage areas could flood, he said.

"It could lead to ... downed trees, localized flooding," he said.

"It's already the wettest August on record in Philadelphia," he said of data that dates to the Civil War era. "It's unusual to get this much rain this month."