Weekend Hurricane Forecast for HHH

Tropical storm conditions are expected on Saturday night with the rain and wind picking up on Sunday as Irene, now a Category 1 hurricane, moves in, according to the National Weather Service

Weather experts are predicting at least 8 inches of rain over the weekend and say winds may gust as high as 85 mph on Sunday.

Here is the weekend forecast:

Saturday: Scattered showers and thunderstorms, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after noon. High near 79. East wind between 8 and 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. 

Saturday night: Tropical storm conditions expected, with hurricane conditions possible. Rain and possibly a thunderstorm. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. Low around 70. East wind 18 to 23 mph increasing to between 35 and 45 mph. Winds could gust as high as 55 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New rainfall amounts in excess of 4 inches possible. 

Sunday: Hurricane conditions expected. Rain and possibly a thunderstorm. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. High near 77. East wind 55 to 75 mph becoming west 50 to 60 mph. Winds could gust as high as 85 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New rainfall amounts between 3 and 4 inches possible. 

Sunday night: A chance of showers, mainly before 9pm. Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly clear, with a low around 58. Breezy, with a west wind between 11 and 21 mph, with gusts as high as 32 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.