* New York, Washington warned to expect storm impacts
* Long Island in powerful storm's sights (Updates position)
By Jim Brumm
WILMINGTON, N.C., Aug 26 (Reuters) - North Carolina braced on Friday for a direct hit from Hurricane Irene, cities along the U.S. east coast were on alert and millions of beach goers cut short vacations to escape the powerful storm.
With more than 50 million people potentially in Irene's path, residents stocked up on food and water and worked to secure homes, vehicles and boats. States, cities, ports, industries, oil refineries and nuclear plants scrambled to activate emergency plans.
Irene, a major Category 3 hurricane, lashed the low-lying Bahamas on Thursday and was expected to hit North Carolina on Saturday before heading up the coast to New York and beyond.
At 2 a.m. EDT (0600 GMT), Irene had sustained winds of 115 miles per hour (185 km per hour) and its center was about 460 miles (740 km) south-southwest of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.
Coastal evacuations were under way in North Carolina and were ordered for beach resorts in Virginia, Delaware and Maryland. Airlines began to cut flights at eastern airports, made plans to move aircraft from the region and encouraged travelers to consider postponing trips. [ID:nN1E77O21P]
After hitting North Carolina, Irene is expected to weaken to a still-dangerous Category 2 storm on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale, with winds of up to 110 mph (177 kph).
"All the major metropolitan areas along the northeast are going to be impacted," National Hurricane Center Director Bill Read told Reuters Insider. "Being a large hurricane, tropical storm-force winds will extend far inland."
WILMINGTON, NC (WECT) - FEMA held a conference call Thursday morning to discuss their preparations and support regarding Hurricane Irene.
FEMA believes hurricane warnings will be issued for the North Carolina coast by the 5 p.m. advisory Thursday.
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