hour winds looks like? lilja luciano is there. >> we are here at the height of hurricane irene in nassau. this is the most severe wind so far. we are getting heavy rain and sleet as well that's starting to hit us as we speak right now. objects are falling and flying through the air. we have got some street signs that have been coming off their posts as the wind changed direction. a couple of trees have fallen right in front of us. we are trying to keep grounded here. but the storm is getting worse. >> storm could hit american shores saturday, possibly brushing up against the outer banks of north carolina. from there, it's a swath of east coast cities. norfolk, virginia, atlanta, philadelphia, and portland, maine. governors in north carolina, virginia, maryland, new jersey, and new york have already declared states of emergency.