Montgomery County Under Tropical Storm Warning

The National Weather Service has upgraded the local severe weather alerts from watches to warnings as Hurricane Irene heads north.

Philadelphia and Delaware County are under a hurricane warning and a Tropical Storm warning is in effect for Chester, Montgomery and Bucks counties.

Hurricane Irene was downgraded to a Category 2 storm over the evening hours but as it travels north over the gulf-stream and makes its way towards North Carolina, the threat of Irene strengthening is likely.

Montgomery County braces for a wet and windy weekend with periods of heavy rain, thunderstorms and gusty winds reaching an estimated 55mph beginning Saturday evening and seeing the worst of the storm on Sunday afternoon. There is a potential for widespread power outages.

The National Weather Service is forecasting scattered showers and thunderstorms after 5 p.m. Friday and continuing through Saturday with tropical storm conditions possible starting Saturday night. Some storms could bring heavy rain and winds hitting up to 39 mph, according to the NWS. Tropical storm conditions could continue through Sunday with heavy rainfall possible and things slowing down toward the evening.

According to a statement issued by the National Weather Service, Irene’s current path has it passing 250 miles east of Jacksonville Florida, moving up the Atlantic, A Tropical Storm Warning is still in effect for all of North East Florida and South East Georgia’s coastal areas.

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