One has to admire Irene's tenacity. What I am wondering is about the strengthening of the storm.
If Irene does intensify what are the possibilities? It seems the consensus is she would be a weak system and a rainmaker at best ( of course, a rainmaker can cause extensive flooding especially with a stalling out of the system over land). Why will she remain a weak system? Is there simply not enough time to intensify or are there factors that will keep her from doing so? Also, does the possibility exist that she could still dissipate?