MARYLAND

Watch out for 15-foot waves to Delmarva beaches, wind gusts with Tropical Storm Maria

The Daily Times

A woman walks across the beach in Ocean City, Md. as Hurricane Maria is off the coast in the Atlantic Ocean on Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2017.

Local beaches will experience rough surf and rip currents as Tropical Storm Maria heads north off the coast.

Waves could be as high as 15 feet at Maryland and Delaware beaches, creating dangerous conditions for swimmers.

“You definitely don’t want to venture out into the water,” said Scott Minnick, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Wakefield, Virginia. “It’s very dangerous.”

But that didn't stop Will Hastings of Hagerstown from diving in the rough seas in Ocean City on Wednesday.

“We came down here to get in the water and we’re going to,” Hastings said after splashing out of the water with his girlfriend, Karen Gallo. “I love this. I’ll take it however Mother Nature wants to hand it to us.

“Hopefully, she won’t drag us out to sea.”

Will Hastings and Karen Gallo, of Hagerstown, had waited two days to get into the ocean and, despite the dangerous conditions, took their chance Wednesday.

The warmth of the water caught Gallo by surprise. She thought it was warmer than the pool at the couple's hotel, making it a must to visit before they left.

“We’ve been here two days already and haven’t come to see the ocean, so we had to," she said.

Maria was 155 miles east of Cape Hatteras on Wednesday and was heading north at 5 mph, Minnick said. It was expected to make a right turn out to sea Wednesday night or Thursday morning.

During the next two days, Delmarva residents can expect to see 30 to 35 mph winds along the coast and 20 to 25 mph winds inland and along the Chesapeake Bay, Minnick said.

Maria could also cause some "nuisance flooding" in areas along the Chesapeake Bay, he said.

The weather at the Delaware beaches will be mostly cloudy with a chance of showers Wednesday and mostly sunny with slightly cooler temperatures Thursday, said Lance Franck, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Mount Holly, New Jersey.

The surf won’t be quite as rough Thursday, but still dangerous because of rip currents, Franck said.

“Don’t enter the water and stay off rocks and jetties,” he said.

More:How can we better prepare for severe storms? Readers give their views

Marina and Phillip Kyne of Hedgesville, West Virginia, heeded Franck's advice, and said they were at Dewey Beach just to relax and enjoy the view.

The couple in their 50s were in the same area where a dune breach caused major flooding issues on Route 1 last Wednesday when Hurricane Jose circled off the coast.

While the wind whipped and the waves crashed with significant power, the dunes held strong against Maria's force.

"We love it, no way we’re nervous," Marina said. "We love it."

Back in Maryland, high waves and fierce winds blasted the sand through the air, but a number of vacationers were still determined to make the best of it.

Greg and Audrey Ahl said they were determined to sit on the beach Wednesday, despite the strong winds and high waters.

Greg and Audrey Ahl of Pennsylvania have visited Ocean City “many times,” but haven’t seen conditions such as Wednesday’s before.

“We came down here to sit on the beach and that’s exactly what we did,” Audrey said.

“It’s amazing, there’s just a lot of power in those waves,” Greg said. “It’d be a beautiful day if it wasn’t for all the sand blowing."

Tourists and locals will be able to enjoy normal fall beach days once again with the upcoming forecasts.

As Tropical Storm Maria edged closer to North Carolina's Outer Banks, there was good news on the horizon: an expected lull in tropical activity in the coming days.

After Maria and Hurricane Lee, which is not expected to pose a threat to the mainland United States, there are no developing storms lurking in the Atlantic basin, Accuweather said.

That should come as a relief to the U.S. and Caribbean, which were pounded by Harvey, Irma and Maria. Still, the tropical season is far from over and more storms could develop later in October, Accuweather warned.

Though the storm is well offshore, large swells are rolling onshore along much of the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic coasts because of Maria.

A push of much cooler air from the Midwest should pick Maria up and steer the storm out to sea by later in the week, AccuWeather said. The recent summer-like heat that's baked the eastern third of the nation will come to an end.

USA Today contributed to this report.

Twitter: @LizHolland5