Aug. 24, 2011, first update

This image depicts what the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES)-13 saw as Hurricane Irene was entering the Bahamas on August 24, 2011 at 1302 UTC (9:02 a.m. EDT). Irene became a major hurricane shortly before this image and now has a clear, visible eye. When a satellite can see a hurricane's eye clearly from space, that's an indication of a strong tropical cyclone and the GOES-13 satellite saw just that in Hurricane Irene this morning as she became a major hurricane. Hurricane Irene reached Category 3 status this morning, the threshold for a major hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale that measures hurricane intensity.