Hurricane Irene: Downgraded But Heading For Jersey Shore

Rain bands from Hurricane Irene have now moved into the majority of New Jersey's coastal areas, as well as many of the inland areas of the Garden State.

The first effects of the massive hurricane come as its wind speed has weakened slightly. The National Hurricane Center in Miami said the storm is now packing 85 m.p.h. winds, down from 90 m.p.h. winds that were measured in an early morning update.

The storm is now located just over 300 miles from Atlantic City. All of the coastal counties of New Jersey remained under a hurricane warning, and mandatory evacuations were in place for .

A disaster area declaration made by President Barack Obama on Saturday allows the Federal Emergency Management agency to coordinate relief efforts in New Jersey following the storm, and makes federal funds available to the state.

Meteorologist Steve DiMartino of NYNJPAWeather.com, told Patch that local residents shouldn't take a slight drop in maximum wind speed as proof that Irene is significantly weakening or that her threat is diminishing.

"I think that this hurricane is definitely going to retain itself for some time," he said, mainly because of its size and the low air pressure at its core. "This hurricane is very large, and the wind field is very large."

DiMartino said rain bands will continue to come onshore for much of the day on Saturday, with the storm beginning to produce hurricane conditions in the Shore area late Saturday night. Those hurricane conditions will last through much of the day Sunday, with the brunt of the storm kicking up around 2 a.m. Sunday through the remainder of the morning hours.

"This is a long-duration storm," DiMartino said. "It's not going to be ending any time soon. That's what makes this storm so dangerous. The coastal flooding associated with this storm is enhanced not only by the new moon, but because the storm is going to pushing water into our bays and rivers for such a long time."

Though some powerful rain bands will come through during the day Saturday, the wind speeds will probably not increase significantly until the evening hours, DiMartino said. But the rain is here to stay.

"Once it starts raining, it won't be ending until [Sunday] night," said DiMartino.