Although remaining well offshore as it moves north along the U.S. eastern seaboard, Hurricane Erin is bringing rain, storm surge and dangerous rip currents to coastal communities in North Carolina and is likely to do the same to parts of the mid-Atlantic and Northeast in the coming hours.
In its 11 a.m. ET advisory on Thursday, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami said the center of the Category 2 storm, which is packing sustained winds of nearly 100 miles per hour with higher gusts, is at about 260 miles east of Cape Hatteras.
A storm surge warning remains in effect from Cape Lookout to Duck, N.C., indicating a life-threatening risk of coastal flooding from rising waters. A tropical storm warning is in place from Beaufort Inlet, N.C., to Chincoteague, Va. Additionally, a tropical storm watch has been issued for Bermuda, meaning tropical storm conditions are possible on the island.
Wind gusts with tropical storm force are likely in the mid-Atlantic and southern New England coast through early Friday, forecasters said.
As the western edge of the storm raked the Outer Banks, North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein on Wednesday gave his own brief but very clear warning. Because of the high waves and powerful rip current, "no one should be in the ocean," he said.
The Outer Banks is a vulnerable stretch of barrier islands that jut into the Atlantic, but it's no stranger to hurricanes. Huge waves lapped at beachfront homes built on stilts and the ferry connection between Ocracoke Island and the mainland was cut off.
Although more than 2,000 people — residents and vacationers — heeded evacuation orders for Ocracoke and Hatteras islands earlier, the storm surge breached protective sand dunes overnight, cutting off Highway 12, the only main road out. "Deep sand, water and debris continue to cover the roadway," Dare County's government said in a social media post on Thursday.
The National Weather Service is warning of an ongoing storm surge up to 4 feet high in the Outer Banks for Thursday night.
Melinda Meadows, property manager at the Cape Hatteras Motel in Buxton, told WRAL that walls were ripped out and sand barriers have disappeared.
It's been less than a year since North Carolina endured Hurricane Helene, one of the most devastating hurricanes in its modern history, which tore through the western part of the state. Helene caused at least 250 deaths.
The NHC says Erin is now turning northeast, away from the East Coast, and increasing its forward momentum, moving over the western Atlantic between the U.S. and Bermuda through Friday. Forecasters say it will gradually weaken during the next couple of days before falling below the threshold for a tropical storm by Saturday.
Across East Coast beaches from Florida to Maine there is a high potential for rip currents on Thursday, forecasters said, and warned potential swimmers to stay out of the water.
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