Forecasters Warn of 100-Foot Waves as Hurricane Erin Brushes the East Coast
Erin, one of the fastest rapidly intensifying Atlantic storms on record, is a Category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 110 miles per hour (175 kilometers per hour) as of 8:00 a.m. ET on Tuesday, August 19, according to the NHC. Forecasters don't expect Erin to make landfall in the U.S., but hurricane-force winds from this sprawling cyclone currently extend 80 miles (130 km) out from its eye. The storm's far-reaching impact is primed to expand as it moves up the East Coast, prompting the NHC to issue widespread warnings.
'Erin is expected to produce life-threatening surf and rip currents along the beaches of the Bahamas, much of the east coast of the U.S., Bermuda, and Atlantic Canada during the next several days,' the agency stated Tuesday morning. Tropical storm conditions and coastal flooding could reach the Outer Banks of North Carolina late Wednesday, where watches are already in effect. Erin may also bring strong winds to coastal communities in the Mid-Atlantic, southern New England, and Bermuda on Thursday and Friday.
Last week, Jean-Raymond Bidlot, a senior scientist in ocean modeling at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), told Newsweek that Erin could produce massive waves as it slides up the East Coast. 'The latest forecast does indeed indicate that the largest significant wave height could reach values in excess of 50 feet with an associated most likely largest wave of more than 100 feet,' he said.
Budlot noted that such waves would be hundreds of feet long as opposed to a single wall of water. This type of wave is typical for intense hurricanes and should not be mistaken for rogue waves, defined by NOAA as large, unexpected swells that are more than twice the size of surrounding waves.
'While 100 feet can't be ruled out, I think they would only be possible if the storm [becomes] a Category 4 or 5 storm,' AccuWeather lead hurricane expert Alex DaSilva told Newsweek. 'I think waves near the center of 50-75 feet are much more realistic (assuming a Category 3 storm),' he added. On Tuesday morning, Erin's maximum sustained wind speed was just below the Category 3 threshold.
The Outer Banks are bracing for the brunt of Erin's impact as authorities warn the storm could produce dangerous rip currents and storm surge up to 15 feet (4.6 meters), the Associated Press reports. Tropical storm and storm surge watches were already in effect Tuesday morning, with impacts expected late Wednesday, according to the NHC.
On Monday, North Carolina's Department of Transportation said evacuation orders were in effect for all visitors to Ocracoke and Hatteras Islands, adding that the mandate will take effect for residents Tuesday morning. According to the Associated Press, officials at Wrightsville Beach near Wilmington, North Carolina, rescued at least 60 swimmers from rip currents on Monday.
As Erin moves out of the Caribbean, the NHC is monitoring another disturbance following close behind. This tropical wave is currently producing a broad band of disorganized showers and thunderstorms, but there's a 60% chance it could gradually develop into a tropical depression over the next seven days, according to the agency.
Forecasters expect this system to track west-northwestward and approach the Leeward Islands by Friday. It's too soon to tell whether it could become the second Atlantic hurricane of 2025, but all eyes will remain on the Basin as we enter the peak of hurricane season.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Detroit Tigers, Tarik Skubal in rain delay vs Houston Astros. When is first pitch?
The Detroit Tigers are in a rain delay. The Tigers and Houston Astros entered a rain delay Tuesday, Aug. 19, before the second of three games in the series at Comerica Park. First pitch was initially scheduled for 6:40p.m. ET. The Tigers are scheduled to have left-hander Tarik Skubal on the mound, while the Astros are slated to start right-hander Hunter Brown, a St. Clair Shores Lakeview and Wayne State alumnus. A new start time has not been announced yet. This story will be updated. Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@ or follow him @EvanPetzold. Listen to our weekly Tigers show "Days of Roar" every Monday afternoon on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers, Tarik Skubal in rain delay vs Houston Astros
New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
Hurricane Erin set to bring deadly waves to NY, NJ — as it powers through Atlantic
New York and New Jersey — along with most East Coast states — are facing threats of life-threatening rip currents and massive waves from Hurricane Erin as the massive Category 2 cyclone creeps continues to churn off the coast. The warnings extend from Georgia all the way to Atlantic Canada, and forecasters predicted waves up to 20 feet high in some areas as the hurricane continues its slow-moving trip north — despite the storm being hundreds of miles from shore. Erin, the first hurricane of the 2025 season, weakened from a Category 4 behemoth to a Category 2 overnight but is still ripping sustained gusts of more than 100 miles per hour on Tuesday, according to the latest update from the National Hurricane Center. Advertisement But what it's lost in steam, it will gain in size, forecasters said. 'While you may be seeing that the hurricane is weakening … the storm is still going to be a very large storm once it gets further north,' Fox Weather Meteorologist Cody Braud told The Post. 'As it moves north it's going to expand its wind field in size and as that happens you get more energy being dispersed toward the coast in the form of waves,' he said. Advertisement 3 Homes along the Atlantic Coast in Dare County, N.C. ahead of expected impacts from Hurricane Erin. AP 'That's why the intensity is not really the key factor in this story. It's more about the very large size of Erin, and as it's moving north it's growing in size, sending out more waves as the waves are getting bigger and all of these waves are going to go somewhere, and they are going to be slamming into the East Coast,' Braud said. The brunt of the storm will be felt on North Carolina's Outer Banks, where a tropical storm warning has been declared and vacationers were ordered to evacuate the barrier islands. A tropical storm warning has also been issued for parts of Virginia. Tropical storm warnings have not been declared north of Virginia, but officials have warned of rip currents, immense waves, storm surge and flooding as it gets closest to the coast on Wednesday through Friday — about 200 to 300 miles offshore, Braud said. Advertisement 'Thankfully, there's no chance the system itself making a direct landfall, but we will kind of get the indirect effects of it as it kind of moves in parallel to the East Coast,' he said. 3 Hurricane Erin weakened from a Category 4 to Category 2 storm overnight Monday. AP Waves in off the tri-state area and further north likely won't reach the 20-25 foot monsters possible off North Carolina but 'it all really depends on how close the storm actually gets,' Braud said. If the storm remains far enough off the coast, it's very likely New Yorkers would not even notice any strange weather unless they went down to the beach and saw the raging ocean, he said. Advertisement But on the coast, the danger from waves and currents will be so severe that Mayor Eric Adams announced Tuesday that all city beaches will be closed to swimmers Wednesday and Thursday. Beaches themselves will remain open, but anybody caught trying to swim, surf or do anything else in the waves will be be booted by life guards and park officers. Several New Jersey beaches were put under similar restrictions, with Gov. Phil Murphy urging residents to stay out of the water. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Tuesday afternoon that a High Surf Advisory is in effect Wednesday through Thursday for all Atlantic Ocean beaches in the state and will likely need to be extended. 'As Hurricane Erin passes the East Coast, I am asking all New Yorkers to prepare for the possibility of dangerous conditions along our beaches and coastal cities and towns,' Hochul said in a statement. 'New Yorkers are no strangers to hurricanes — that is why I'm urging those living in areas that may be impacted to stay safe and exercise caution until the hurricane tapers off later this week.' The storm is currently about 650 miles southwest of Bermuda, with maximum sustained winds of 105 miles per hour. 3 Mandatory evacuations have been ordered for part of the Outer Banks. AP The hurricane force winds extend from the eye up to 80 miles and tropical-storm-force winds extend up to 205 miles from the Advertisement The storm continues to move northwest at a slow pace of just 9 mph, but is expected to turn north and out to sea by the end of the week.
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
North Carolina Beach Towns Brace for a Surge of Dangerous Seas
Gov. Josh Stein of North Carolina declared a state of emergency on Tuesday as the outer bands of Hurricane Erin inched closer to the state, increasing the likelihood of life-threatening rip currents this week. 'To folks on the coast, now is the time to prepare,' Mr. Stein wrote on social media. 'Check your emergency kits, make sure you have emergency alerts turned on, and listen to emergency guidance in case you need to evacuate.' The state's emergency management agency said that storm surge, or the abnormal rise of water generated by a storm, could reach as high as four feet on Wednesday. Portions of the Outer Banks in North Carolina are under a mandatory evacuation order, and officials have warned that some roads could remain impassable for days. By Tuesday afternoon, many tourists had already hopped on a ferry and fled places like Ocracoke, a small coastal community that is reachable only by boat. Farther south, on beaches near Wilmington, the sun was shining, and there were still plenty of people enjoying the last dribbles of good weather. People played music and read on the sand, even as lifeguards remained on high alert. In Wrightsville Beach, about 70 people had to be rescued on Monday from dangerous rip currents generated by swells from Hurricane Erin. Officials have warned residents not to swim in the area until at least Friday. 'It's like a perfect storm,' Sam Proffitt, the town's ocean rescue director, said in an interview on Tuesday. 'The weather is nice. It doesn't look super choppy. People just see waves, but it generates a lot of rips.' Aidan Kratt, 22, who works at Sweetwater Surf Shop near Wrightsville Beach, said that while he surfed on Monday for about 15 minutes, he saw lifeguards rescue at least three people who had been sucked far from shore by powerful currents. As he rested on his board in the surf, Mr. Kratt said he saw a woman's head bobbing above the water far from him, appearing to struggle. 'I could tell she was a little tired, and there was already a no-swim advisory red flag, so I just helped her back, just in case,' Mr. Kratt said. 'You can just get pulled out in two minutes and not even really know it.' She hung onto his board as he paddled them to shore. Jerry Slayton, a manager at Cavalier Surf Shop in Nags Head, a beach town in the Outer Banks, said many locals didn't appear too concerned about the storm quite yet, based on the forecast as of Tuesday. 'I just hope it doesn't flood too much,' he said as he closed up shop, after a day of serving customers who were eager to buy the right gear for increasingly powerful waves. 'It's pretty good out there, so the surfers are happy,' Mr. Slayton added. 'The tourists are a little bummed.' Michael Levenson contributed reporting.
