Stronger, bigger Hurricane Erin forecast to create dangerous surf along US coast
MIAMI (AP) — A stronger and bigger Hurricane Erin pelted parts of the Caribbean and was forecast to create dangerous surf and rip currents along the U.S. East Coast this week.
It reintensified to a Category 4 storm with 130 mph (215 kph) maximum sustained winds late Sunday as its outer bands lashed the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami. Erin was forecast to bring tropical storm conditions to the Turks and Caicos Islands and the southeast Bahamas overnight into Monday.
Additional strengthening was forecast for Monday followed by gradual weakening, but Erin was expected to remain a large, major hurricane into midweek.
Hurricane-force winds extended up to 60 miles (95 kilometers) from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 230 miles (370 km). The area of strong winds is expected to grow more over the next few days. At that size, Erin will impact coastal areas even though it isn't forecast to make a direct landfall.
Dare County, North Carolina, declared an emergency and ordered an evacuation beginning Monday of Hatteras Island on the Outer Banks, the thin stretch of low-lying barrier islands that juts far into the Atlantic. Several days of heavy surf and high winds and waves could wash out parts of N.C. Highway 12 running along the barrier islands, the National Weather Service said.
As of late Sunday, Erin was about 130 miles (205 kilometers) east-northeast of Grand Turk Island and about 965 miles (1,555 kilometers) south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. It was moving northwest at 12 mph (19 kph).
Erin, the year's first Atlantic hurricane, reached an exceedingly dangerous Category 5 status Saturday with 160 mph (260 kph) winds before weakening. It is expected to remain powerful for the next several days and grow in size.
'You're dealing with a major hurricane. The intensity is fluctuating. It's a dangerous hurricane in any event,' said Richard Pasch of the National Hurricane Center.
Erin's outer bands pelted parts of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands with heavy rains and tropical-storm winds during the day Sunday.
That knocked out power to about 147,000 customers, according to Luma Energy, a private company that oversees the transmission and distribution of power on the island. More than 20 flights were canceled due to the weather. The Coast Guard allowed all ports in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands to reopen Sunday as winds and rains decreased.
Rough ocean conditions were forecast for parts of the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola and the Turks and Caicos the next couple of days. Life-threatening surf and rip currents were forecast into midweek for the Bahamas, Bermuda, the U.S. East Coast and Canada's Atlantic coast as Erin turns north and then northeast.
Scientists have linked the rapid intensification of hurricanes in the Atlantic to climate change. Global warming is causing the atmosphere to hold more water vapor and is spiking ocean temperatures, and warmer waters give hurricanes fuel to unleash more rain and strengthen more quickly.
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NBC News
12 minutes ago
- NBC News
Climate change is increasing the risk of rapidly intensifying storms. Hurricane Erin is the latest example.
Hurricane Erin strengthened back into a Category 4 behemoth over the weekend, the latest shift in what has been a remarkably fast-changing storm. The hurricane's behavior in recent days makes it one of the fastest-strengthening Atlantic hurricanes on record, and yet another indication that climate change is increasing the risk of rapidly intensifying storms. Erin became the first hurricane of this year's Atlantic season on Friday and exploded in strength from a Category 1 into a Category 5 storm in a little over 24 hours. Even after it weakened and re-strengthened into a Category 4 storm, Erin's jaw-dropping transformation ranks it among the five fastest storms to grow from Category 1 to Category 5. The hurricane is expected to grow larger and strengthen even more on Monday as it passes east of the Bahamas, according to the National Hurricane Center's latest advisory. Heavy rainfall is forecasted for parts of Hispaniola on Monday, and for Turks and Caicos and parts of the southeast and Central Bahamas through Tuesday. But it's the storm's 'rapid intensification' that has experts taking note. Rapid intensification describes an increase in sustained wind speeds of at least 35 mph over a 24-hour period, according to the National Hurricane Center. Erin's maximum sustained wind speed increased around 75 mph in 24 hours, from Friday morning into Saturday. Climate change is increasing the risk of rapidly intensifying storms, primarily due to warmer-than-usual sea surface temperatures and high levels of moisture in the atmosphere — key ingredients needed for storms to gather strength. Erin's journey near the Bahamas on Monday will take it over warm waters hovering in the mid-80 degree Fahrenheit range, which could help it intensify further. A warmer atmosphere as a result of global warming also holds more moisture, which enables storms to gather strength and dump more rainfall over land. A 2023 study published in the journal Scientific Reports found that tropical cyclones in the Atlantic Ocean were around 29% more likely to undergo rapid intensification from 2001 to 2020, compared to 1971 to 1990. Indeed, rapid intensification has been well documented in recent years. In 2019, Hurricane Dorian's peak winds increased from 150 mph to 185 mph in nine hours. Hurricane Ian in 2022 underwent two rounds of rapid intensification before it made landfall in Florida. Last year, Hurricane Milton's maximum sustained wind speed increased by an astonishing 90 mph in roughly 25 hours. Other recent examples of rapid intensification include Hurricane Harvey in 2017, Hurricane Laura in 2020, Hurricane Ida in 2021 and Hurricane Idalia in 2023. Still, the process of rapid intensification remains difficult to forecast. Scientists know that warm sea surface temperatures, moist air and favorable atmospheric conditions are necessary pieces of the puzzle, but understanding how it will happen for specific storms — and when — will require more research. In the coming days, the National Hurricane Center said Erin will move between Bermuda and the east coast of the United States. Though the storm is not expected to make a direct hit with land, the hurricane will generate swells, life-threatening surf and rip currents for the Bahamas, Bermuda, the eastern seaboard of the U.S. and Atlantic Canada.
New York Times
12 minutes ago
- New York Times
The Unseen Dangers of Floodwaters
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Time Magazine
an hour ago
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How Hurricane Erin Will Impact the U.S.
Hurricane Erin is ripping through the Atlantic Ocean, passing just east of the Turks and Caicos and southeast Bahamas on Aug. 18 and 19, bringing coastal flooding to the islands. While the category 4 storm is not expected to make landfall on the U.S. east coast, it will have an impact nonetheless. Dangerous high surf and rip currents are expected from Florida to New England throughout the week. 'It looks like it's going to stay offshore through its entire lifetime, but because it's so large in size, it is going to be bringing impacts,' says Alex DaSilva, AccuWeather's lead hurricane expert. The hurricane saw an 'exceptionally rare' rapid intensification—growing from a tropical storm to a category 5 hurricane in 24 hours on Saturday. (The storm has since been downgraded to a category 4.) Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of hurricanes—and the number of extreme rapid intensification events have increased significantly in the past three decades. As of Monday morning, evacuation orders are in place for the Outer Banks region of North Carolina, where DaSilva says they might see waves of up to 15 feet. 'That's just waves coming into the coast,' he says. 'There's going to be major beach erosion and major coastal flooding issues on the Outer Banks in the middle of the week.' And though other regions might not face evacuations, the storm will create unsafe conditions at beaches across the East Coast as many beachgoers might be looking to squeeze in one last trip before school starts. 'Anybody on the East Coast from Miami all the way up to Maine needs to be aware that this week, the rip current risk is going to be extremely high and very dangerous,' says DaSilva. 'So even if you're in Long Island or Massachusetts or Maine—far away from the storm—when you're at the beaches it's going to be very dangerous.' Keep an eye out for no swimming signs at the beach, and make sure to listen to any lifeguard instructions. Rip currents are expected to last into next week—at least until Saturday. 'It's going to be a very dangerous week for beach weather,' says DaSilva. 'We don't want people to venture out there thinking it doesn't look that bad and get hurt because rip currents are nothing to mess with.'
