With Hurricane Irene making a beeline for the Inner Banks, the Washington Daily News has been forced to adjust its publishing schedule.

The most-severe part of the storm is expected over our area as a Category 2 hurricane during the day Saturday.

Our Saturday edition will be published Friday afternoon and should be delivered to subscribers Friday evening.

There is no accurate way to predict damage in the wake of a storm of this magnitude. We anticipate that flooding, power outages and blocked roads may hinder the publication of our Sunday edition.

“Deadline and delivery schedules are being adjusted to ensure safety for our employees and carriers; and to allow for extensive Irene coverage in the Sunday edition,” said WDN Publisher Ray McKeithan.

At this time, we plan to  publish the Sunday paper Sunday afternoon. Our carriers will deliver the Sunday paper as soon as practical afterward – possibly as late as Monday.

The management and staff of the Washington Daily News will make every effort to deliver the newspaper in a timely fashion.

In the meantime, readers can follow our up-to-the-minute coverage on our website, www.wdnweb.com, or through Facebook and Twitter.

Your patience is greatly appreciated.