GRAY, Maine - The National Weather Service is warning residents of coastal Maine and New Hampshire of potentially high surf, winds, and dangerous currents as the remnants of hurricane Hermine track northward up the eastern seaboard.
The storm which has killed two people, and left hundreds of thousands without power farther to the south, diminished in its ferocity after making landfall, but experts say it could return to hurricane strength over Sunday and Monday, depending on its path.
"Either way, whether it does or whether it doesn't, it's still going to contain strong winds at the center and it's still going to generate those waves for Maine and New Hampshire." says James Brown, a hydrometeorological technician with the weather service in Gray, Maine.
Brown says with waves of six to nine feet likely, people along the New Hampshire and Maine coasts should avoid going out in small crafts or attempting to swim.
Of particular concern, are rip currents.
"Those are strong currents that run along the coast, and it can actually drag people into the water and take them out into the ocean quite far and that's a very hard thing to fight, so you don't really want to get caught in something like that." says Brown.
A surf advisory is in effect for coastal Maine and New Hampshire until 8:00 Tuesday morning.
