Next Up: Irene

Hurricane Irene from the Space Station this afternoon.

UPDATE from here:

6 p.m.: East Coast refineries likely to shut. http://apne.ws/puWXEh

5:30 p.m.: Amtrak has canceled most service south of D.C. for Fri., Sat.and Sun. Most trains on the NE Corridor not yet affected.

5:23 p.m.: Pepco is contacting individual customers who need power for critical medical equipment, urging them to review their emergency plans.

5:09 p.m.: Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center have issued the first warnings for the entire North Carolina coast to the Virginia border.

5:02 p.m.: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has declared a state of emergency.

4:33 p.m.: Va. Gov. Bob McDonnell has authorized localities to issue mandatory evacuation orders as they see fit.


4:21 p.m.: Alexandria-area Home Depot says business for sandbags is brisk and supplies may not last.

4 p.m.: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie: "From a flooding perspective, this could be a hundred-year event."

3:48 p.m.: Red Cross is mobilizing emergency shelters all along Eastern Seabord. Here's a link to its interactive locator map. http://bit.ly/aiVTx8

 3:33 p.m.: Va. Gov. Bob McDonnell and Emergency Management officials will hold a press conference at 4:15 p.m.

3:23 p.m.: Ocean City, Md. initiates phase 3 of emergency plan - mandatory evacuations beginning at midnight tonight.

3:19 p.m.: American Airlines and its American Eagle affiliate canceled 126 flights on Thursday. Delta Air Lines reported four cancelations, and United one.

3:10 p.m.: Bill Nye, "The Science Guy," says the storm is so powerful because it's just off shore and thus able to pick up speed and power.


3:02 p.m.: Weather Channel anchor says this has the possibililty to become "the hurricane of our lifetime."

2:52 p.m.: Officials in Accomack County (N.C.) and Sandbridge area of Virginia Beach have issued voluntary evacuation orders.

2:30 p.m.: Metro chief spokesperson Dan Stessel said the important thing now is for people to know that WMATA is ramping up in anticipation of the storms. The transit authority has just finished dispatching more than 2,000 sandbags to Metro stations with a history of flooding issues. http://tbd.ly/qveNx1

2:24 p.m.: On MSNBC, Discovery Channel's Atom Edwards warns people in projected path to NOT try to ride it out.

2:13 p.m.: Storm now hitting the Bahamas with a fury.

1:37 p.m.: Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley has declared a state of emergency in the state of Maryland.

1:07 p.m.: New Jersey governor Chris Christie is declaring a state of emergency because of Hurricane Irene.

12:07 p.m.: White House aides say President Obama spoke Thursday with officials to get updates on the hurricane's progress and ensure that states and local governments have what they need.

11:30 a.m.: The U.S. Navy ordered ships in its biggest East Coast center to head out to safer waters on Thursday to protect them from approaching Hurricane Irene.

11 a.m.: Amtrak announces train cancellations south of Washington D.C.

10:58 a.m.: Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell declares a state of emergency in Virginia.