Hurricane Erin to Menace US East Coast Beaches Into the Weekend

Hurricane Erin is triggering dangerous beach conditions across much of the US East Coast that will likely last into the weekend, as the storm pushes north in the waning days of the summer travel season.

Erin is not currently forecast to make landfall in the eastern US or Canada. But the storm has created a high risk of powerful and potentially deadly currents this week at popular vacation destinations, including Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket in Massachusetts, the Hamptons on Long Island and Delaware’s Rehoboth Beach. Heavy winds and waves up to 20 feet (6 meters) tall are possible in the worst-hit areas before beginning to calm on Saturday.

Erin — which was 335 miles (540 kilometers) southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, as of Wednesday afternoon — is creating massive disturbances in the Atlantic Ocean that will take days to subside. Tropical storm-strength winds now extend for hundreds of miles from Erin’s eye, triggering widespread warnings off the Eastern seaboard. The hurricane was a Category 2 storm on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale Wednesday with top winds of 110 mph (175 kph).

“Beachgoers are cautioned against swimming at most U.S. East Coast beaches due to life-threatening surf and rip currents,” said Richard Pasch, a forecaster with the US National Hurricane Center, in an update Wednesday at 2 p.m. local time.

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The storm has already forced visitors and residents in some parts of North Carolina’s Outer Banks islands to evacuate, as intense tides threaten to wash out roads and cut off the region from emergency services.

Erin could still gain strength Wednesday before it curves away from the East Coast and “the environment gets a little more hostile,” said Alex DaSilva, a meteorologist with commercial forecaster AccuWeather. As Erin tacks to the northeast, the storm may pass over oil production platforms near Newfoundland.

While rough surf will gradually subside in the coming days, DaSilva said treacherous currents are still possible on eastern beaches well into Saturday.

“I’m a little concerned that people might think, ‘the storm is gone, I’m safe to go in the water,'” DaSilva said. “But we want people to really exercise caution, because there could still be some rip current risk.”