Strong northeast winds today - plus scarce rain and low humidity - are combining to create fire danger in parts of the Eastern shore, plus high surf at Ocean City and points south, and in the lower Chesapeake Bay. Here's a Bethany Beach (Del.) webcam.

First, the fire hazard. Red Flag warnings have been issued by the National Weather Service's Mt. Holly, N.J. forecast office for much of New Jersey, southeastern Pennsylvania, Delaware and the upper Eastern Shore of Maryland:

"A RED FLAG WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM EDT THIS EVENING.

"ANOTHER DRY AND BREEZY DAY IS OCCURRING TODAY. HUMIDITY LEVELS
WILL FALL TO AROUND 20 PERCENT AT SOME LOCATIONS DURING THE
AFTERNOON AS DRY AIR MIXES DOWN FROM SEVERAL THOUSAND FEET OFF
THE SURFACE. NORTHEAST WINDS WILL INCREASE TO 15 TO 20 MPH WITH
FREQUENT GUSTS TO 25 MPH. GUSTS TO 30 MPH ARE EXPECTED OVER
EASTERN SECTIONS WHICH ARE CLOSER TO DELAWARE BAY AND THE OCEAN.
THESE ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS WILL COMBINE WITH VERY LOW FUEL
MOISTURE LEVELS TO FAVOR THE RAPID SPREAD OF ANY BRUSH OR WILD
FIRE.

"A RED FLAG WARNING MEANS THAT CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS
ARE EXPECTED TO OCCUR. A COMBINATION OF STRONG WINDS, LOW RELATIVE
HUMIDITY AND DRY FUELS WILL CREATE AN ENVIRONMENT FOR SIGNIFICANT
FIRE GROWTH."

The same winds, powered by high pressure to our north and low pressure out in the Atlantic to our east near Bermuda, are driving ocean water and Chesapeake Bay water to the south and west. That's creating 8 to 10-foot surf along the beaches from Ocean City south. See the purple areas on this map. The weather service has issued a high surf advisory for the region today. Here's the blustery report from a weather bouy in the Delaware Bay. And here's how things look at Chesapeake Light, just outside the mouth of the bay.

It's also affecting the Chesapeake Bay, where unusually high tides are expected in portions of tidewater Virginia. Coastal flood statements have been issued there, with minor flooding possible as the water rises 3 feet above mean sea level.