Hurricane Erin could bring "life-threatening" surf, rip currents to East Coast

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Hurricane Erin threatened the East Coast with "life-threatening surf and rip currents" arsenic the ample tempest moved connected a projected way up the Atlantic Ocean, the National Hurricane Center successful Miami said Wednesday. The hurricane isn't expected to marque landfall successful the U.S., but radical successful North Carolina's Outer Banks were warned of imaginable coastal flooding that triggered evacuation orders.

Erin, the archetypal Atlantic hurricane of 2025, was downgraded to a Category 2 tempest Tuesday arsenic it churned implicit the Atlantic Ocean northbound of the Caribbean. It previously exploded to a Category 5 connected Saturday earlier weakening to a Category 3 aboriginal Sunday morning, past regaining spot again aboriginal successful the day. It's forecast to clasp hurricane spot into the weekend.

As of 8 a.m. EDT Wednesday, Erin had maximum sustained winds of 100 mph and was moving north-northwest astatine 13 mph. The storm's halfway was astir 560 miles west-southwest of Bermuda and immoderate 400 miles south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.

A Category 2 hurricane is defined arsenic having maximum sustained winds from 96 mph to 110 mph. Erin was nether what's considered a large storm, susceptible of causing devastating harm with maximum sustained winds of astatine slightest 111 mph. Forecasters said immoderate strengthening was imaginable during the adjacent time oregon so.

Maps amusement Hurricane Erin's forecast path

The halfway of the tempest was expected to determination implicit the occidental Atlantic betwixt the U.S. East Coast and Bermuda connected Wednesday done aboriginal Friday, past walk southbound of Atlantic Canada connected Friday and Saturday, the hurricane halfway said.

Erin was already a ample storm, with hurricane-force winds extending outward up to 90 miles from the halfway and tropical storm-force winds extending up to 265 miles from the center, forecasters said.

Tropical tempest warnings are successful effect for northbound of Duck, North Carolina, to the North Carolina/Virginia borderline and Beaufort Inlet, North Carolina, to the North Carolina/Virginia border, including Pamlico and Albemarle sounds. A tropical tempest ticker is posted for northbound of the North Carolina/Virginia borderline to Chincoteague, Virginia, and for Bermuda. A tropical tempest informing means tropical tempest conditions are expected determination wrong the informing area, portion a ticker means they are possible.

A tempest surge informing was besides issued for the Outer Banks, meaning determination was a information of life-threatening inundation from coastal flooding that was expected to start Wednesday.

A representation shows tropical alerts connected the East Coast arsenic of aboriginal Wednesday morning, Aug. 20, 2025.

Hurricane Erin's "spaghetti models"

A "spaghetti map" of the forecast models shows the tempest skirting the Caribbean islands and remaining good offshore of the U.S. East Coast arsenic it moves northbound and curves backmost implicit the Atlantic.

A "spaghetti map" shows forecast models of the way of Hurricane Erin arsenic of aboriginal Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025.

A high-pressure strategy successful the Atlantic was expected to steer Erin distant from the U.S. seashore portion a acold beforehand was besides forecast to propulsion the hurricane offshore, CBS News Bay Area meteorologist Jessica Burch reported.

When is Hurricane Erin expected to interaction the U.S.?

Erin isn't forecast to deed the U.S. directly. Conditions are "expected to deteriorate on the seashore of North Carolina by this evening," the hurricane halfway said, adding that radical "are cautioned against swimming astatine astir U.S. East Coast beaches owed to life-threatening surf and rip currents."

The worst conditions are expected precocious Wednesday done Thursday, erstwhile the halfway of Erin was expected to beryllium astatine its closest constituent to the North Carolina coast, according to the National Weather Service bureau for Newport/Morehead City. At that time, forecasters warn, terrible flooding could scope buildings and roads on the Outer Banks. Many roadways volition apt beryllium nether respective feet of h2o and inaccessible for respective days owed to the flooding.

Mandatory evacuations were ordered for Hatteras Island and Ocracoke Island in the Outer Banks up of the expected flooding.

Coastal areas on the Eastern Seaboard volition consciousness the effects of Erin with unsafe rip currents and precocious waves of 10 to implicit 20 feet implicit the adjacent respective days.

A representation shows forecast question heights on the U.S. East Coast from Hurricane Erin for Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025.

Mike Brennan, the hurricane center's director, said the unsafe conditions were expected to past for overmuch of the week crossed astir the full East Coast. He urged radical to heed immoderate warnings from section officials.

"It's conscionable not going to beryllium a precise harmless situation to beryllium successful the ocean," Brennan said.

Rip currents a perchance deadly threat

Rip currents are constrictive channels of fast-moving h2o that commonly hap on U.S. coastlines and tin propulsion adjacent beardown swimmers distant from shore. They're the crushed for more than 80% of formation rescues.

In summation to the warnings on the North Carolina coast, immoderate beaches ranging from South Florida up to New England are besides taking precautions.

Erin is expected to bring unsafe rip currents on the Jersey Shore and south-facing New York beaches, CBS News New York reported, with the hazard continuing done the week. Officials astatine immoderate New Jersey beaches and the fashionable summertime destination of Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, person already prohibited swimming arsenic a precaution, and much closures whitethorn follow.

"You're allowed connected the beach, but you volition not beryllium allowed successful the h2o due to the fact that we person treacherous conditions going connected close now," said Ed Schneider, formation patrol skipper successful Wildwood, New Jersey, told CBS News Philadelphia. "We person a rip existent warning, we person [a] unsmooth surf warning, we person [a] tempest warning, and conditions are bad."

First hurricane of the Atlantic season

Erin formed arsenic a tropical storm last week westbound of the land federation of Cabo Verde, a fewer 100 miles disconnected Africa's occidental coast. It is the 5th named storm of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season, which started successful June and runs done November. Erin strengthened to a hurricane connected Friday.

So acold this year, Tropical Storm Chantal is the lone 1 to person made landfall successful the U.S., bringing deadly flooding to North Carolina successful aboriginal July. In June, Barry made landfall arsenic a tropical slump connected Mexico's eastbound coast.

Erin's accrued spot comes arsenic the Atlantic hurricane play approaches its highest successful September. According to the hurricane center, astir of the season's enactment typically happens betwixt mid-August and mid-October. In the eastbound Pacific Ocean, hurricane play starts connected May 15 with a highest successful enactment typically seen successful precocious August.

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, oregon NOAA, forecast an above-normal season for the Atlantic this year, expecting betwixt 13 and 18 named storms.

Tropical storms person maximum sustained winds of astatine slightest 39 mph. Forecasters with NOAA anticipated that betwixt 5 and 9 of the storms this twelvemonth could go hurricanes, which person sustained winds of astatine slightest 74 mph. Hurricanes are rated connected a scale based connected their upwind speeds, ranging from Category 1, the weakest, to Category 5, the astir terrible rating.

NOAA forecasters predicted determination could beryllium betwixt 2 and 5 large hurricanes successful the Atlantic this season.

Nikki Nolan contributed to this report.

Alex Sundby

Alex Sundby is simply a elder exertion astatine CBSNews.com. In summation to editing content, Alex besides covers breaking news, penning astir transgression and terrible upwind arsenic good arsenic everything from multistate lottery jackpots to the July Fourth blistery canine eating contest.

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