High surf from Hurricane Katia will likely produce dangerous rip currents and erosion along the Atlantic facing beaches,” the weather service said. It said that surf height would be as high as 3 to 6 feet.
Officials advised swimmers to be cautious in the water and to listen to advice from lifeguards. They said that if you become caught in a rip current, the best thing to do is to remain calm and begin to swim parallel to the shore. Once you are away from the force of the rip current you can begin to swim back to the beach. Do not attempt to swim directly against the rip current.
As of 2 p.m. Tuesday Katia was a Category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph and was moving northwest at around 9 mph. It is expected to weaken by Wednesday night into Thursday morning. The National Hurricane Center has the core of Katia tracked to move over the western Atlantic between Bermuda and the East Coast.
A flash flood watch is also in effect through 6 p.m. Tuesday for Long Island, New York City and parts of New Jersey and Connecticut. The NWS stated that a stalled front and tropical moisture will cause periods of rain with embedded pockets of heavy rainfall. Rainfall rates of approximately one inch per hour could produce both urban flooding and flooding of rivers and streams.
