Hurricane Irene Is Starting to Ruin Your Weekend

How your latest houseguest is inconveniencing you

With Hurricane Irene chugging along towards an impending collision with the east coast, people are beginning to realize their weekend plans may have to be changed. The storm is causing some states to declare a state of emergency in preparation for Irene's arrival this weekend. Universities are switching things up already, changing their move-in day from Sunday to Monday. The New York Times has sent star media reporter Brian Stelter to North Carolina to document the evacuation efforts there. He's hunkering down to weather the storm, but he talked to one North Carolinian hurricane veteran who said he's getting out of town for this one. John Woolard is a 79 year old man who has survived anywhere between 12 and 14 hurricanes in his time on the North Carolina coast. He can't remember the exact number. Irene is chasing him out of town. “This one is dead on us," he said.

Even golf fans are angry with Irene. This weekend is supposed to be the first round of the FedEx Cup playoffs in New Jersey, but the hurricane is forcing organizers to consider shutting the event down after play on Saturday instead of finishing on Sunday as planned. About 40 percent of players couldn't finish the first round on Thursday. Play was suspended Thursday because of darkness.

Movie executives are dreading this weekend, too. The high winds and heavy rain are expected to keep people in their homes and away from movie theatres, according to The Wrap. "That’s not exactly movie weather," joked one studio executive. Without a big, headlining release, it was forecasted to be a quiet weekend at the box office anyway.

The New York Daily News reports that the MTA in New York City may shut down everything on Saturday, leaving commuters stranded during the storm. Let's hope no one lives in Brooklyn and works in Manhattan over the weekends. Your boss might not like this. The MTA also announced bridges might be shut down for security reasons.

Eater NY's Greg Morabito guesses there won't be anywhere to eat out this weekend. If the MTA shuts down train operations, then kitchen staff can't make it to work. "No subways = no line cooks, servers." If there aren't any line cooks, delivery isn't an option either. Go to your grocery store and stock up on bread and eggs, just to be safe.