Hurricane Irene to Cause One of Largest Power Outages?
Already saturated soil could mean huge risk of falling trees, experts say.
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Electric power could go out from North Carolina's Outer Banks barrier islands—where Hurricane Irene will likely make its first U.S. landfall Saturday—to Maine, where Irene is forecast to hit by early Monday morning, according to meteorologist Jeff Masters.
"A foot of rain from eastern North Carolina to New York City will cause major problems," said Masters, director of the Weather Underground website.
Overall, Hurricane Irene is expected to drop 6 to 10 inches (15 to 25 centimeters) of rain along the East Coast, and could dump as much as 15 inches (38 centimeters) in some places.
The deluge could be especially troublesome in the mid-Atlantic states from Maryland northward, which have already seen heavy
