Ocean City to Feel Effects of Katia and Lee

Hurricane Katia and Tropical Storm Lee will not visit Ocean City directly, but they'll make their presence known this week.

The remnants of Lee are expected to bring periods of torrential rain to the island through Wednesday, and Katia is predicted to send big waves and rip currents to Ocean City all week as it passes to the east on a track up the Atlantic Ocean. (See ".")

Tropical Storm Lee made landfall early on Sunday (Sept. 4) in Louisiana and quickly broke apart, but its rain will reach the area today.

A separate front is stalled to the east. The combination of the two systems could dump several inches of rain on the area by Wednesday and cause local flooding conditions.

High tides on the bay side of Ocean City at the Ninth Street Bridge are 4:11 p.m Tuesday (Sept. 6) and 4:44 a.m. on Wednesday.

Hurricane Katia is on a path between the Bahamas and Bermuda and currently is a Category 3 storm with winds of 125 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The hurricane is expected to maintain its current strength for the next day, before slowly weakening as it takes a turn toward the open waters in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

The latest predicted track would bring Katia within 400 miles of Ocean City at its closest on Friday morning (Sept. 9), according to the National Hurricane Center.

"Large swells generated by Katia are expected to affect most of the East Coast of the United States ... during the next few days," the National Hurricane Center advises.

The Ocean City Beach Patrol will guard some beaches this week, including St. Charles, Brighton, Eighth, Ninth, 12th, 18th, 34th and 58th streets.