Community Corner
Hurricane Katia Weakens, Maria May Follow
Hurricane Katia is now a Category 1 storm with 80 mph winds. A new storm may follow a similar track.
Hurricane Katia was downgraded to a Category 1 storm on Wednesday night as it continued on a path over the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean.
Katia, once a Category 3 storm with 135 mph winds, had maximum sustained winds of 80 mph at 8 p.m. Wednesday. Little change in strength is expected over the next 48 hours, according to the National Hurricane Center.
The storm is on a track that will put it between 300 and 400 miles of Ocean City when it passes on Friday, Sept. 9.
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The hurricane continues to send to Ocean City. The dangerous surf is expected to continue through at least Friday.
Local onshore winds created choppy conditions on Wednesday, and the same is forecast for Thursday.
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At the same time, two new tropical storms were named on Wednesday.
Tropical Storm Nate is in the Gulf of Mexico and could make landfall in Mexico. But Tropical Storm Maria appears to be on an early track similar to that of Irene and Katia.
Maria has maximum sustained winds of 50 mph, and little change in strength is predicted in the near-term, according to the National Hurricane Center.
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