Though Hurricane Irene has weakened to a Category 1 hurricane, it is expected to hit the North Carolina coast, heading north into Virginia and up the Chesapeake Bay by Sunday morning.

Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Craig Fugate on Tuesday said the entire East Coast should be on alert. Officials say the onset of adverse weather will hit the Carolinas by Saturday with treacherous surf conditions starting on Friday, according to the Miami Herald.

Hurricane Irene, based on projections, will move into the mid-Atlantic states by Sunday and then into the Northeast by Monday, forecasters said.

The impact could be widespread, depending on exactly where the storm goes,'' said a National Hurricane Center official. We see no reason for it not to be a major hurricane in its track northward up along the gulfstream. We're very concerned about what's going to happen in New England.''

Irene is shown on the accompanying maps from the National Hurricane Center and pictures captured by NASA.

Hurricane Irene
The TRMM satellite passed over Irene when it was a tropical storm on Aug. 21 at 0024 UTC (8:24 p.m. EDT Aug. 20). Data collected with this orbit showed that Irene contained numerous powerful thunderstorms with TRMM's Precipitation Radar (PR) revealing that some thunderstorm towers near the center of the storm were reaching to heights above 15 km, or about 9.3 miles. NASA/SSAI, Hal Pierce
Hurricane Irene
This visible image was taken from the MODIS instrument on NASA's Aqua satellite on Aug. 21, 2011 at 17:45 UTC (1:45 p.m. EDT) when Irene was still a tropical storm approaching Puerto Rico (left). NASA Goddard MODIS Rapid Respo
Hurricane Irene 2011
Looking down on Earth from aboard the International Space Station, astronaut Ron Garan snapped this image of Hurricane Irene as it passed over the Carribean on Aug. 22, 2011. The storm is tracking toward the New York area, and forecasters say it could make landfall Sunday at Long Island as a Category 1 storm. CREDIT: NASA/Ron Garan
Hurricane Irene Path
Hurricane Irene Path National Hurricane Center
Hurricane Irene Path
Hurricane Irene is forecast to hit the New York area on Sunday. The area experienced an earthquake on Tuesday. National Hurricane Center
Hurricane Irene Path
Hurricane Irene Path National Hurricane Center
Hurricane Irene
Hurricane Irene National Hurricane Center
NASA Storm NASA Storm