Hurricane Irene made landfall early this morning in Little Egg Harbor, New Jersey at 5:35am before moving rapidly north and passing near New York City. Hundreds of thousands of people remain without power, and likely will continue to do so for at least a few days as crews scramble to repair the damage. Tree damage has become a common sight in every neighborhood throughout the area; each county is reporting thousands of trees down including trees uprooted from the ground completely. The area rivers and creeks have flooded and many are left with flooded basements and roads. In addition, the area rivers are still cresting and towns are currently being evacuated. We would like to remind everyone to stay safe and do not approach any downed trees or power lines---they can be very dangerous. In addition, do not approach any deep standing water on foot or in your vehicle. And finally, if you live near a river that has a history of flooding, leave your property now. The rivers are forecast to crest later today at record levels. Featured Image: Visible satellite imagery as Hurricane Irene passed New York City this morning.

So, although Hurricane Irene has come and gone, the hazardous conditions still remain. Please be sure to send us your storm reports, pictures, videos, and first hand accounts to our Twitter and Facebook over the next few days. We hope everybody has stayed safe so far throughout the storm--and we'd like to thank everybody who has collaborated with us over the last few days to make our forecasts possible.