Hurricane Sandy continues its march north, and Rhode Island is starting to feel the effects.

The storm strengthened overnight, according to the National Hurricane Center, and now has top windspeeds of 85 mph, according to the hurricane center's 5 a.m. update:

HURRICANE SANDY ADVISORY NUMBER 28 NWS NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL AL182012 500 AM EDT MON OCT 29 2012 ...SANDY STRENGTHENS...EXPECTED TO BRING LIFE-THREATENING STORM SURGE...COASTAL HURRICANE WINDS AND HEAVY APPALACHIAN SNOWS... SUMMARY OF 500 AM EDT...0900 UTC...INFORMATION ---------------------------------------------- LOCATION...35.9N 70.5W ABOUT 285 MI...460 KM E OF CAPE HATTERAS NORTH CAROLINA ABOUT 385 MI...615 KM SSE OF NEW YORK CITY MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...85 MPH...140 KM/H PRESENT MOVEMENT...N OR 360 DEGREES AT 15 MPH...24 KM/H MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...946 MB...27.94 INCHES

The worst of the storm should be in Rhode Island from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., as the storm turns toward the state, according to WJAR.com. Coastal flooding and widespread loss of power — expected to be on par with last year's Hurricane Irene — will most likely be the worst effects. The current wind gusts are between 25 and 35 miles per hour. 

As of about 5:25 a.m., National Grid is only reporting minor outages in the state. 

If it all possible, stay home today! Pretty much every school day and other event in the state is cancelled because of the storm. RIPTA service is the only thing running, but it is expected to be cancelled at some point.

And finally – We would love to run your photos of the storm’s effect, but please, ONLY take pictures if you can do so safely! You can share them with us via e-mail –patrick.luce@patch.com — or you can also upload directly to the story. We will put together a community gallery of photos after the storm.

Keep checking back with Bristol-Warren Patch for updates throughout the storm, Follow us @BristolWPatch on Twitter and on Facebook.