could still feel irene even if it doesn t make a direct hit, and that s one of the big things in this, category two, three, even one, doesn t necessarily make that much of a difference, gregg. it s the wind, it s the rain, it s the area that it impacts. so everybody really has to be ready for this one. gregg: those folks in hataras, okakoke island, it s largely unprotected and always seems to get hit first. all right. one of the stunning things about irene is the sheer size of this thing. take a look at the storm from space courtesy of nasa astronaut, the international space station snapping this pic, showing the swath it covers. look at that. as soon as we get the next update from the national hurricane center on irene, we ll be bringing it to you live. martha: irene on track to become the first hurricane to hit the u.s. in three years, that s more than 1000 days. ike was the last one, that was back in 2008. it s also the first major storm to hit north carolina