US Atlantic Coast to face lingering surf hazards as Hurricane Erin departs
Hurricane Erin is heading away from the United States, but heavy seas, crushing surf and strong rip currents will pose dangers to swimmers and boaters into this weekend.
Streets in New Jersey and Maryland were left underwater on the evening of Aug. 21 as Erin sent large waves smashing against boardwalks.
Hurricane Erin has made its anticipated northeast turn over the Atlantic and is expected to spend the next several days accelerating away from the United States. However, strong winds circulating around the large storm will continue to generate large waves, hazardous surf and rounds of coastal flooding into the weekend, AccuWeather meteorologists warn.
“The center of Hurricane Erin made it as close in as 200 miles off the North Carolina coast on Thursday morning as forecast," AccuWeather Lead Hurricane Expert Alex DaSilva said. "The storm is passing roughly 300 miles southeast of Nantucket as it moves out to sea.”
The wind field with Hurricane Erin remains extensive, with tropical-storm-force conditions reaching more than 350 miles from the center and additional breezy conditions extending well beyond that. Nantuckett, Massachusetts, was experiencing tropical storm winds Thursday night into Friday morning.
As of Friday morning, Erin is now classified as a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale with maximum sustained winds of 90 mph. Erin is transforming into a hybrid storm.
This image of Erin, while a Category 1 hurricane, was captured at midday on Friday, Aug. 22, 2025. The United States appears to the left of the image. Erin continues to speed away from the U.S., but its massive wind field is still generating significant swells and rough surf over thousands of square miles. (AccuWeather Enhanced RealVue™ Satellite)
As Erin tracks north-northeast between the New England coast and Bermuda, winds are forecast to gust 40–60 mph along the Cape and Islands of southeastern Massachusetts into Friday afternoon with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 60 mph.
As of Friday morning, the maximum observed wind gust from Erin in the United States was 53 mph in Cape Hatteras, NC. The AccuWeather RealImpact™ Scale for Hurricanes in the United States is less than one.
The circulation around Hurricane Erin will continue to generate large ocean swells, which will reach the Atlantic coast as powerful breakers. Deep-sea swells will range between 25 and 50 feet in the vicinity of Erin, which will pose significant danger to small craft in offshore fishing, especially around New England.
As these waves move toward the shoreline, rip currents develop as water returns seaward through narrow channels. The greater the wave action, the stronger and more hazardous these rip currents become—posing significant danger to swimmers and inexperienced surfers.
Even as Erin tracks farther away and gradually weakens, the swells already generated will take time to subside. As a result, occasional large breakers and strong rip currents are expected to persist along much of the U.S. Atlantic coast well into the weekend.
“Do not let your guard down if you’re spending time at the beach on Friday or into this weekend for one of the last unofficial weekends of summer," DaSilva cautioned. "It may seem like a nice beach day with sunshine and blue skies as the storm goes out to sea, but powerful rip currents will be lurking in the water."
While conditions along the east coast of Florida are likely to improve to typical by the weekend, rip currents can be present even in seemingly normal surf.
Rounds of coastal flooding to continue into Friday night
The high tide cycle on Friday evening, associated with Erin and the astronomical impact around the new moon, will be significant and lead to another round of coastal Flooding. Levels may be a few inches lower than the cycle from Thursday evening in the mid-Atlantic, from North Carolina to New Jersey and New York. However, tide levels will be higher than they were on Thursday night in New England—in some cases by a foot or more—with more coastal flooding problems.
Hurricane Erin produced a storm surge of around 3 feet along portions of North Carolina's Outer Banks and southeastern Virginia, with wave action of 10–20 feet in the surf zone on top of the surge.
“Some roads in the Outer Banks were left underwater or covered with sand after waves overtopped the dunes,” DaSilva said.
It may take several days before some areas are fully accessible to the public. Storm surge problems from Erin in the U.S. are not done yet.
Erin to impact Bermuda, Atlantic Canada and Europe
Impacts on Bermuda have been minor, limited mainly to rough seas and gusty winds surrounding the islands. A tropical storm warning is in effect for Bermuda. These conditions are expected to persist into Friday. The AccuWeather RealImpact™ Scale for Hurricanes in Bermuda is less than one.
Across southeastern Newfoundland, Canada, gusty winds and rough seas are expected from Friday into Saturday. Conditions are not expected to exceed those of a typical moderate nor’easter. Most wind gusts will range from 40–50 mph. The AccuWeather RealImpact™ Scale for Hurricanes in Canada is less than one.
“Erin may bring some impacts to parts of Europe next week,” AccuWeather Lead International Meteorologist Jason Nicholls said.
Erin is expected to merge with another storm near Iceland early next week.
“Moisture and wind energy associated with Erin may bring periods of heavy rain and gusty winds to the United Kingdom by midweek and to parts of western Europe later next week,” AccuWeather Lead International Meteorologist Jason Nicholls said.
AccuWeather meteorologists continue to monitor the Atlantic for additional tropical activity, with a tropical rainstorm and an area in the central Atlantic being closely tracked for potential development in the coming days.
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