WILMINGTON — As the path of Hurricane Maria takes it up the Atlantic Coast toward North Carolina, the National Weather Service has issued tropical storm warnings, storm surge watches, and high surf advisories up and down the coast.
For New Hanover County as well as neighboring Brunswick and Pender counties, storm surge watches as well as high surf advisories have been issued.
Hurricane Maria, which was once a Category Five storm has since been downgraded to a Category One. According to the National Weather Service, surf height at Pender and New Hanover County beaches will be anywhere from six to nine feet, with slightly smaller waves in Brunswick County.
Rip currents are also expected to be extremely strong while the storm lingers offshore.
Hurricane Maria is expected to linger off the North Carolina coast until Wednesday before making an easterly shift back into the Atlantic Ocean, according to the storm’s cone of uncertainty generated by the National Weather Service.