City beaches will remain closed on Wednesday as Hermine continues to cause dangerous rip currents off the coast of New York, the parks department announced Tuesday.
Beaches have been closed to swimmers, bathers and surfers since Sunday due to the high risk of life-threatening rip currents.
Hermine was upgraded to a hurricane last Thursday and made landfall in Florida early on Friday. As it moved toward Georgia, the National Hurricane Center said it weakened to a tropical storm. It later strengthened again to a post-tropical cyclone.
Over the weekend Hermine moved farther east than the National Hurricane Center had predicted, which lessened the threat to the metropolitan area, the NWS said.
On Monday, the National Weather Service said the tropical storm warning that was issued for New York City had been canceled.
Although New York was spared from a direct hit by Hermine, the National Weather Service said dangerous rip currents were still a factor.
Mayor Bill de Blasio urged residents and visitors along the shore to be remain cautious.
“My No. 1 concern is the dangerous rip currents we are going to experience,” de Blasio said in a statement released on Sunday. “We are reminding people to refrain from going into the water. Even though the forecast has improved, the waters will still be extremely dangerous.”
There is a 30 percent chance of showers Tuesday night into Wednesday, the NWS said. The remainder of Wednesday is predicted to be mostly cloudy with a high near 83 degrees.
