NoVA Weather Forecast: Hurricane Chris Churns In MidAtlantic

Hurricane Chris was churning 315 miles off the coast of the MidAtlantic states Wednesday with winds blowing at sustained speeds as high as 105 mph, experts said.

The storm is strengthening as it makes its way north, but forecasters at the National Hurricane Center believe it will be too far off-shore to affect Virginia much, although there is a moderate rip current risk through this evening for southeast Virginia.

Lifeguards were busy in Ocean City, Maryland, this week, with rip currents developing and swimmers requiring rescues. On Monday alone, the Ocean City Beach Patrol reportedly made 141 rescues as the powerful currents pulled swimmers away from shore.

A teen who was rescued Monday told Delmarva Public Radio she had been standing in the water when she was pulled back away from shore by the waves. All of the 141 rescues on Monday were attributed to people who needed assistance getting out of rip currents, according to the Salisbury Daily Times.

The service said Chris is likely to pass "well southeast of [Southern New England]" Wednesday into Thursday."

An outlying scenario is that the push of cooler air is not as strong and the storm fails to get steered off to the northeast," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said. "Chris may then just continue to meander off the coast and keep seas rough later this week."

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Here's the detailed forecast, via the National Weather Service for northern Virginia:

Wednesday Afternoon: Mostly sunny, with a high near 91. North wind around 8 mph.

Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 70. North wind 6 to 8 mph.

Thursday: A slight chance of showers after 2pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 86. Northeast wind around 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 69. East wind around 6 mph becoming calm after midnight.

Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 87. Calm wind becoming east around 6 mph in the afternoon.

Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 69.

Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 90.

Saturday Night: A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 73. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Sunday: A chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 91. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 73.

Monday: A chance of showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 91. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Monday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 74.

Tuesday: A chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 91. Chance of precipitation is 50%.

Lead image via National Hurricane Center