{mosads}Irene, the first major hurricane forecast to affect the United States in three years, is expected to strike North Carolina first on Saturday before moving up the East Coast.
The storm, which could be a Category-1 hurricane by the time it reaches the Northeast, is expected to make landfall in Washington sometime between Saturday evening and Sunday morning.
Officials in New York and Philadelphia said Friday they were preemptively canceling subway service in advance of the storm. Washington’s MetroRail has thus far said it would monitor the storm, but didn’t anticipate having to cancel service.