Forecasters say Hurricane Irene’s center is moving north-northeastward toward the coast of North Carolina and little change of strength is expected before it reaches land.

The National Hurricane Center said early Saturday that the storm was moving at 13 mph and the center was about 85 miles south of Cape Lookout, N.C.

Sustained winds are still howling at 100 mph, still a Category 2 hurricane.

Senior hurricane specialist Richard Pasch of the National Hurricane Center said there were signs that the hurricane may have weakened slightly, but strong winds continued to extend 90 miles from its center.

The moment Saturday when the eye of the hurricane crosses land “is not as important as just being in that big swath,” Pasch said. “And unfortunately, it’s a big target.”

COMPLETE HURRICANE IRENE COVERAGE

PHOTOS: HURRICANE IRENE

MYFOXHURRICANE: FOLLOW IRENE

NYC OEM: HURRICANE EVACUATION ZONE FINDER

Officially, Irene was expected to make landfall Saturday near Morehead City, on the southern end of the Outer Banks, the barrier island chain. But long before the eye crossed the coastline, the blustery winds and intermittent rains were already raking the coast. By Friday evening 50 mph winds were measured at Wrightsville Beach, N.C.

Tornado watches and warnings were in effect along the coast ahead of the hurricane. A coastal town official in North Carolina said witnesses believed a tornado spawned by Irene lifted the roof off the warehouse of a car dealership in Belhaven on Friday night and damaged a mobile home, an outbuilding and trees.

New York City was put under a hurricane warning Friday afternoon shortly after Mayor Bloomberg warned that the storm is “very serious” and ordered a first-ever mandatory evacuation for people living in low-lying areas of the city.

“The sun is shining, but don’t be misled,” Bloomberg said. “There is a very dangerous storm headed in our direction.”

In its 5 p.m. advisory, the National Weather Service changed the city’s status from a watch, which means a storm landing is possible, to a warning, which means the storm is expected to hit.

President Obama also declared a state of emergency for New York and ordered federal aid to supplement state and local response efforts.

Bloomberg said New Yorkers living in those areas — which include Battery Park City in lower Manhattan and the Rockaways in Queens — will be asked to leave by 5 p.m. Saturday.

“If you don’t follow this [order], people might die,” Bloomberg said of the mandatory evacuation.

The low-lying areas are scattered across the southern part of the city and are home to an estimated 270,000 residents.

“It’s going to be up to individuals to get out of the area,” said Bloomberg, urging people to use mass transit today ahead of the subway closures.

This is the first time in the city’s history that a mandatory evacuation has ever been ordered.

Meanwhile, the MTA said the city’s subway system will close at noon Saturday along with all NJ Transit service. PATH service also will stop then.

“This is very serious,” Bloomberg warned during a news conference, adding that low-lying areas could be flooded.

Bloomberg said all New Yorkers should avoid being outdoors from 9 p.m. Saturday through 9 p.m. on Sunday. He also told people not to be near glass windows during much of the storm.

MTA chairman Jay Walder echoed the mayor’s call for urgency, saying, “Please do not wait for the last train. There is simply not enough capacity.”

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced fees for MTA services would be waived starting at 8:00pm Friday to help facilitate those evacuating from the low-lying areas. Tolls on local bridges are to be suspended as well.

Nassau County officials ordered most residents along the south shore including the barrier sland made up of Atlantic Beach, Long Beach, Lido Beach and Point Lookout to evacuate before 5 p.m. Saturday.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey also announced that it would close John F. Kennedy International Airport to incoming international flights beginning at noon Saturday to avoid stranding passengers at the airport when the region’s mass transit systems suspend services due to the impending arrival of the storm.

The suspension also affects LaGuardia airport in New York City, Stewart International in the city’s northern suburbs and Newark Liberty International and Teterboro in New Jersey.

Several of the city’s bridges — including the George Washington and the Tappan Zee — also will be closed to traffic if sustained wind speeds exceed 60mph, according to a statement from Cuomo’s office.

Utility officials and forecasters say millions of people are in danger of losing electric power, some for days. PSE&G, which serves 2.2 million New Jersey customers, will have about 6,000 employees working to restore power once Irene moves through, including 840 linemen and 540 tree contractors.

Gasoline supplies are ample, although there were reports of several stations running dry. Analysts do not expect prices for power and gas to rise.

Gasoline demand jumped 20 to 40 percent in Mid-Atlantic states, according to the Oil Price Information Service, which tracks gasoline supplies and prices around the country.

Several gas stations in New Jersey and in other spots along the eastern seaboard have run out of gasoline, according to OPIS.

Retail prices were mostly unchanged in many cities that are expected to be hit this weekend. Rules against price gouging at gas stations took effect throughout Middle Atlantic states. Authorities will be on the lookout for stations that try to take advantage of panicked drivers.

Pump prices in Myrtle Beach, S.C. rose less than a penny to $3.35 per gallon. They held at $3.58 in Charlotte, N.C. and slipped a penny in Norfolk Va. to $3.46

Obama urged residents on the East Coast in the path of Hurricane Irene to “take precautions now” in advance of what he said is likely to be a “historic” storm, and obey any evacuation orders.

“I cannot stress this highly enough. If you are in the projected path of this hurricane, you have to take precautions now,” Obama said. “Don’t wait, don’t delay. We have to take this storm seriously.”

Obama cut short his vacation on Martha’s Vineyard and returned to Washington, DC, last night, a day ahead of schedule as Hurricane Irene bears down on the East Coast.

At least 65 million people across the East Coast are in the hurricane’s projected track.

This comes as a high volume of users crashed the the city’s government’s website. Mayor Bloomberg had urged city residents to use the site to determine if they live in a flood-zone area that might be evacuated.

In the meantime, the mayor’s site, MikeBloomberg.com, is offering the city’s hurricane map.

The National Hurricane Center is predicting storm surge will raise water levels by as much as 3 to 6 feet above ground level along the Jersey shore. This would be accompanied by large waves.

Gov. Chris Christie said Friday that a flood warning was issued for the entire state of New Jersey.

Also Friday, US airlines began canceling weekend flights to avoid any lengthy delays ahead of Hurricane Irene.

Airlines will cancel at least 6,100 flights over the next three days, grounding passengers as Irene sweeps up the East Coast.

JetBlue Airways was the first carrier to cancel a significant number of flights from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport and Boston Logan International Airport for Saturday evening and Sunday, according to data provided by FlightAware.

United Continental Holdings Inc., the world’s largest airline company, said late Friday it would cancel 2,300 flights Saturday and Sunday. Delta Air Lines said it would cancel 1,300 flights through Monday.

US Airways canceled 1,166 flights for Saturday and Sunday, JetBlue Airways scrubbed about 880 flights through Monday, and AirTran Airways, owned by Southwest Airlines, also canceled 265 flights through Monday. American Airlines said it would cancel 265 flights on Saturday and probably even more on Sunday.

Many of the cancellations were on smaller, so-called regional affiliates such as United Express, Continental Express and Delta Connection. When weather limits flights at an airport, airlines ground those smaller planes first and try to salvage flights on the bigger “mainline” jets.

The airlines declined to say how many passengers would be affected by the hurricane, and the mix of small and big planes made it hard to estimate a figure. But the JetBlue flights, mostly on one type of aircraft, would likely have carried about 110,000 passengers, and they’ll account for only about 15 percent of all canceled flights.

Airlines waived rebooking fees for customers who wanted to delay their flights to more than two dozen cities on the East Coast. Details varied by airline, with some giving travelers more time to make their rescheduled flight. Travelers whose flights were canceled would be eligible for refunds.

A spokesman said Greyhound Lines also started to cancel some service between Washington and New York on Thursday.

In the last 200 years, New York has seen only a few significant hurricanes.

In September of 1821, a hurricane raised tides by 13 feet in an hour and flooded all of Manhattan south of Canal Street, the southernmost tip of the city. The area now includes Wall Street and the World Trade Center memorial.

An infamous 1938 storm dubbed the Long Island Express came ashore about 75 miles east of the city and then hit New England, killing 700 people and leaving 63,000 homeless.

With AP and Newscore