Gov. Patrick Declares State of Emergency for Hurricane Irene

Gov. Deval Patrick declared a state of emergency in advance of Hurricane Irene's arrival in Massachusetts.

The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency Tweeted the news.

Mansfield went under tropical storm and flood watches Friday morning as Hurricane Irene approaches Southern New England.

The National Weather Service in Taunton issued the two alerts at 6:22 a.m.

At 5 a.m., the center of Irene was located "about 920 miles south-southwest of Nantucket," the agency said on its website. Irene was to head toward Southern New England Friday, the agency said.

Parts of Southern New England could see "damaging winds" and 5 to 10 inches of rain this weekend, the weather service said.

The Massachusetts Audubon Society is urging the public to call its wildlife sanctuaries, including in Sharon, before heading over there this weekend, to ensure the facility is open.

The Hockomock Area YMCA says it is monitoring the weather, and expects its branches to be closed Sunday if the forecast holds. Officials will update the Y's website, Facebook and Twitter pages with more information.