Hurricane Erin closes beaches from Florida to New York, unleashes monster waves, rip currents, extreme erosion

HATTERAS, N.C. – Hurricane Erin continues to churn in the Atlantic waters hundreds of miles off the U.S., prompting officials to close beaches along the East Coast from the mid-Atlantic to the Northeast due to massive waves and potentially deadly rip currents just as families take their final vacations of the summer.

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Hurricane Erin isn’t forecast to make landfall along the U.S. East Coast.

However, dangerous impacts are expected nonetheless due to outer rain bands possibly lashing North Carolina’s Outer Banks, where Tropical Storm Warnings and Storm Surge Warnings remain in effect.

This graphic shows tropical alerts in effect due to Hurricane Erin.

(FOX Weather)

The Tropical Storm Warning is now in effect from Beaufort Inlet, North Carolina, to the North Carolina-Virginia border. A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect north of the North Carolina-Virginia border to Chincoteague, Virginia.

Officials in Dare and Hyde counties declared local states of emergency and issued mandatory evacuation orders for tourists and residents in popular areas like Ocracoke Island and Hatteras Island.

On Tuesday afternoon, North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein declared a state of emergency to assist with the response to Hurricane Erin and to mobilize resources.

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As Hurricane Erin creates extremely dangerous beach conditions all up the East Coast, officials from Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, are warning people to stay out of the ocean. Sam Proffitt, director for Wrightsville Beach Ocean Rescue, joined FOX Weather to talk about the dangers from rip currents and the 80 water rescues his agency has done just since Monday.

“To folks on the coast, now is the time to prepare,” he said in a post on X. “Check your emergency kits, make sure you have emergency alerts turned on, and listen to emergency guidance in case you need to evacuate.”

North Carolina Emergency Management officials opened a State Operated Shelter (SOS) in conjunction with Warren County Emergency Management for those who needed to evacuate due to Hurricane Erin.

Due to the threats of a storm surge and large waves of up to 12 feet in some spots, local officials and forecasters have been warning people to stay out of the water for safety.

A spokesperson for Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, told FOX Weather their rescue crews conducted nearly 60 water rescues on Monday and another 20 on Tuesday due to strong rip currents. The town has now told all beachgoers to stay out of the water through Friday as Erin gets even closer. 

“These swells are producing powerful rip currents that can create extremely hazardous swimming conditions,” said Sam Proffitt, director of Wrightsville Beach Ocean Rescue. “The safety of our beachgoers is always our top priority, and we urge everyone to follow this advisory.”

Where is Hurricane Erin?

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As of the latest advisory from the National Hurricane Center (NHC), Hurricane Erin has maximum sustained winds of 100 mph with some higher gusts, and some slow strengthening is expected through Thursday night.

Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 80 miles from Erin’s center, and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 230 miles.

Hurricane Erin is currently located less than 500 miles to the south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and is moving off to the north-northwest at 13 mph.

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The NHC said Erin is expected to begin a turn to the north on Wednesday, followed by a northeastward motion on Thursday.

On that forecast track, the center of Hurricane Erin will move over the western Atlantic between the East Coast and Bermuda through early Friday, and then pass south of Atlantic Canada on Friday and Saturday.