Tropical Storm Irene Tropical Storm Irene started as a tropical
depression in the Atlantic before passing through the Caribbean
as a category 3 hurricane, hitting the east coast of the United
States as a category 1 hurricane and losing intensity as it
headed north toward New York City. It had maximum sustained
winds of 110 mph (as of Friday morning, August 26, 2011). It
initially came ashore on the mainland of the United States at
Cape Lookout, North Carolina. Approximately 4 million people in
the United States lost power. Many were surprised by how long
power outages lasted for what had become merely a tropical
storm. How long would power be out if a full hurricane reached a
highly populated shoreline? Tropical storm Irene developed east
of the Leeward Islands, with NOAA issuing its first advisory at
7 PM on August 20, 2011. The storm developed into a Category 1
hurricane by August 22 while over Puerto Rico, becoming the
first hurricane of the 2011 Atlantic season. The storm swept
over the Dominican Republic