WILMINGTON, N.C. (AP) - Hurricane Irene drenched southeastern North Carolina with more than a half foot of rain before heading out to sea Sunday night, unleashing more flooding in a region still saturated by record floodwaters from Hurricane Floyd. As the storm turned east and its strongest winds moved away from land, the National Weather Service dropped hurricane warnings at 11 p.m. Tropical storm warnings remained in effect for most of the North Carolina coast.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami said it appeared increasingly likely that Irene's northeast track and its 85 mph winds might skirt the North Carolina coast without coming ashore. As the storm turned east and its strongest winds moved away from land, the National Weather Service dropped hurricane warnings at 11 p.m. Tropical storm warnings remained in effect for most of the North Carolina coast.