Sustained winds from Cristobal surpassed 74 mph on Monday night, and the storm officially became the season’s third hurricane.
Ocean City will not feel wind or rain from the distant storm, but Cristobal is expected to generate surf. Forecasters are now predicting a faster track for Cristobal with the storm passing Ocean City’s latitude on Thursday.
Waves are expected to build through the day on Wednesday and peak on Thursday morning. Wave heights may reach 4 to 7 feet, according to most surf forecasts.
With the waves hitting the island, strong currents in the surf will increase dramatically, and swimmers will be urged to swim only at beaches protected by the Ocean City Beach Patrol between 9:30 a.m and 5 p.m.
The effects of Cristobal will fade by Friday.
Local winds for Wednesday afternoon will be steady out of the southwest and for Thursday morning out of the north.
Cristobal is the third named storm of the 2014 hurricane season.
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