Hurricane Irene Downgraded, But Still A Threat

Hurricane Irene, packing 85 m.p.h. winds, has been downgraded to a category one hurricane, but forecasters warned to continue to prepare for the worst.

At 5 a.m., Irene was located 380 miles south-southwest of Atlantic City, according to the National Weather Service office in Mount Holly. All of the coastal counties of New Jersey remained under a hurricane warning, and  were in place on all local barrier islands and in some other waterfront communities.

Overall, between 6 and 10 inches of rain was expected to fall before all was said and done, according to the latest NWS forecast.

An early-morning advisory from the National Hurricane Center in Miami said that Irene "lost some organization" Saturday morning, probably because dry air over land was beginning to obstruct the storm's development. The storm is expected to continue to weaken slowly, but steadily, over the next 48 hours, with wind speeds dropping to 60 m.p.h. - below the minimum 74 m.p.h. that is hurricane strength - by Monday morning.

The storm will still be a minimal category one storm, packing winds of about 80 m.p.h., when it affects New Jersey late tonight into Sunday morning.

According to the NWS forecast, Ocean and Monmouth counties should begin to see initial bands of rain during the afternoon Saturday. The worst of the storm will affect New Jersey during the overnight hours into Sunday morning.