Aug. 23, 2011, first update

This image from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite was taken at 15:57 UTC (11:57 a.m. EDT) on August 22, 2011. This is a top-down view of the rain intensity within the storm. The center of the storm is located just to the southwest of an area of heavy rain (shown in red) about midway between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. Rainbands containing light to moderate rain (shown in blue and green, respectively) curve around the storm mainly to the north and east of the center. The TRMM satellite has been busy measuring rainfall within Hurricane Irene, and forecasts call for between 5 and 10 inches in the southeastern and central Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands as Irene moves toward them today.