Hurricane Erin eyes North Carolina Outer Banks with rising surf, storm surge and wind
The growing size of the powerful hurricane's winds and waves will lead to significant flooding and erosion on North Carolina's Outer Banks throughout the weekwith the worst conditions Wednesday night to Thursday.
A state of emergency was issued in North Carolina due to the dangers posed by Hurricane Erin through life-threatening surf and rip currents. Dozens of water rescues were conducted since Aug. 18.
The North Carolina Outer Banks and other beaches along the Atlantic coast of the United States will bear the brunt of Erin as the hurricane grows in size and its winds and waves extend well beyond the eye of the storm, AccuWeather meteorologists warn.
A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for Beaufort Inlet, North Carolina, to Chincoteague, Virginia.
This image of Hurricane Erin was captured on Thursday morning, Aug. 21, 2025. The eastern United States appears to the left of the image, with Bermuda to the right. Dry air continues to get caught up in the circulation of Erin, hence the spiral structure of the storm. (AccuWeather Enhanced RealVue™ Satellite)
The magnitude of the storm surge, waves and winds on the Outer Banks and southeastern Virginia will depend on how close to the coast Hurricane Erin tracks. Erin's eye passed 205 miles offshore of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, Thursday afternoon.
Because of the distance, some outer bands will bring some rain but not enough to lead to significant freshwater flooding. Still, other impacts along the coast can be significant, dangerous and damaging.
"People on the coast should not just focus on the eye track of a hurricane, especially one that is as large and strong as Hurricane Erin," AccuWeather Lead Hurricane Expert Alex DaSilva said.
Due to Erin's already large and growing zone of winds and waves, significant problems associated with a relentless storm surge, flooding and overwash from waves on top of the surge will lead to coastal flooding and erosion on the Outer Banks.
The AccuWeather RealImpact™ Scale for Hurricanes in the U.S. is less than one, which will be equivalent to a strong tropical storm in terms of weather and economic impacts. There is a chance that Erin could gain some wind intensity from Wednesday to Thursday. Erin is currently a Category 2 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.
Erin's hurricane- and tropical-storm-force wind zone is large. On Wednesday morning, hurricane-force winds extended out to 90 miles, and tropical storm winds reached 265 miles from the center. For this reason, AccuWeather meteorologists expect tropical storm winds to reach eastern North Carolina.
Wind gusts are forecast to get strong enough (40-60 mph) on the Outer Banks to lead to sporadic power outages.
Erin is acting like a giant plunger over the ocean just northeast of the Bahamas. Waves produced by powerful winds in the storm continue to propagate outward.
Waves in the building surf zone will lead to an increase in the strength and number of rip currents. The dangerous conditions may cause many beaches to close.
Dozens of water rescues were performed at Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, alone on Monday.
As the week progresses, wave heights will build, and more ocean water will be pushed shoreward than has time to escape to sea--even with Erin's core staying a couple of hundred miles offshore.
This will lead to a storm surge of 1-3 feet in many areas but 3-6 feet in parts of eastern North Carolina.
The North Carolina Outer Banks will experience a storm surge of several feet with wave action on top of that, likely between 10 and 15 feet, but locally higher to near 20 feet, depending on Erin's eye proximity to the coast.
The worst conditions are likely to continue through Thursday with some of the highest water levels, coastal flooding and the greatest rate of erosion occurring around the times of high tide. However, water levels may still cause inundation even at low tide as the storm makes its closest approach.
With these expected conditions, portions of North Carolina Highway 12 will experience significant overwash flooding and could be damaged.
More homes on the barrier islands may be washed into the sea.
Late in the week, as Erin accelerates and moves northeastward, away from North Carolina, conditions will improve. However, it is possible that parts of the Outer Banks may be cut off depending on damage to the sandy soil and road surface of Highway 12.
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