Hurricane Irene is pummeling its way up the U.S. East Coast, hitting North Carolina early Saturday, then continue all the way up to New York City and even Canada.

Hurricane Irene, a Category 2 storm currently forecast to make landfall in North Carolina on Saturday.

The sun is shining, but don't be misled, Bloomberg told New York City. You only have to look at the weather maps to understand just how big this storm is, and how unique it is. And it's heading basically directly for us.

NASA astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) have seen the tropical storm, which began in the Atlantic Ocean, moving toward the U.S. East Coast and captured a series of photos and videos using the NOAA Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES-13) satellite.

It is expected to slow to a Category 1 by the time it his New York, meaning it will deliver winds in excess of 40mph, but has the potential to speed up once it arrives.

We don't what they will grow to, but the full brunt of the storm if you're in its way, it's a lot more powerful than any of us, the Mayor said. Certainly the best case scenario is very high winds and a lot of rain, and very, very high tides.

Eye of Hurricane Irene
Hurricane Irene's eye as seen by infrared instruments onboard the GOES-East satellite. NOAA
Hurricane Irene
Hurricane Irene, the first hurricane of the 2011 Atlantic hurricane season, was seen from space today (Aug. 22) as it roared past Puerto Rico. NASA
Hurricane Irene Passing North of Cuba
Astronaut Ron Garan continues to send pictures of Hurricane Irene from the International Space Station: "The view #FromSpace of #Hurricane #Irene as it passed north of Cuba @ 7:50pm GMT yesterday 8/25/11." NASA via Ron Garan/@Astro_Ron
Hurricane Irene
Hurricane Irene blows up the U.S. East Coast Ho New
Hurricane Irene
Hurricane Irene is on course to affect almost the entire U.S. East Coast -- a major and dangerous storm. REUTERS
Hurricane Irene
NASA satellite image of Hurricane Irene moving through the Bahamas NASA
NASA New York Storm Canada