CT Weather Forecast: Hurricane Chris Churns Off CT Coast

Hurricane Chris was churning 315 miles off the east coast 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 heavily impact Connecticut. High swells and rip currents are expected.

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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."

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

Today
Isolated showers and thunderstorms after noon. Partly sunny, with a high near 86. Northeast wind around 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Tonight
Partly cloudy, with a low around 63. Calm wind becoming north around 5 mph after midnight.

Thursday
Sunny, with a high near 82. Calm wind becoming south 5 to 7 mph in the afternoon.

Thursday Night
Partly cloudy, with a low around 66. Southeast wind 5 to 7 mph becoming calm after midnight.

Friday
Sunny, with a high near 81. Calm wind becoming southeast 5 to 7 mph in the afternoon.

Friday Night
Partly cloudy, with a low around 68.

Saturday
Partly sunny, with a high near 85.

Saturday Night
Mostly cloudy, with a low around 69.

Sunday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 87.

Written by Adam Nichols, Patch Editor

Lead image via National Hurricane Center