The National Hurricane Center, as of 8 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, reported that Hurricane Irene, after skirting Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, was bearing down on the southeastern Bahamas as a Category 1 storm with winds of roughly 90 mph. Hurricane warnings remain in effect for Turks & Caicos and the southeastern, central and northwestern Bahamas. A tropical storm warning remains in effect for the north coast of Haiti from Le Mole St. Nicholas eastward to the Dominican Republic border.

 As of 8 p.m. EDT, Hurricane Irene was moving west-northwest at roughly 9 mph. On the forecast track, the core of Irene was expected to impact Turks & Caicos during the night and then move near or over the southeastern and central Bahamas late Tuesday night and into Wednesday, before moving near or over the northwestern Bahamas on Thursday. The storm is expected to impact the U.S. East Coast on Friday into the weekend. Irene is currently on a track that would hit the Carolinas over the weekend, though the storm could turn.