Surfers hit the waves as Tropical Storm Cristobal treks northeast, parallel to the Carolinas

Tropical Storm Cristobal, the first tropical storm to menace the southeastern U.S. seaboard this hurricane season, sent outer bands of intermittent rain lashing eastern North and South Carolina late Saturday. At 11 p.m. EDT (0300 GMT Sunday), the National Hurricane Center said Cristobal was moving northeast at about 6 mph (10 kph) with maximum sustained winds of about 45 mph (72 kph) and some higher gusts. "Basically the track is running parallel to the coast," said lead center forecaster Martin Nelson, speaking with The Associated Press by telephone from Miami. "Slow strengthening is forecast for the next day or two." Bradley Rose, a surf instructor at SandBarz in Carolina Beach, North Carolina, said surfers took the plunge. "It looks pretty fun out there,"... [read full story]