Assateague Island, Ocean City, Maryland beaches closed due to dangerous conditions from Hurricane Erin
Officials announced the closures on Tuesday, saying swimming will be prohibited until further notice as the storm moves north, parallel to the East Coast. Currently, the storm is not expected to make landfall in the U.S.
As of Tuesday morning, Erin is a Category 2 storm, weakening from a Category 5 on Saturday and a Category 3 on Sunday.
Hurricane Erin has sustained winds of 105 mph as it moves northwest about 650 miles southwest of Bermuda and about 690 miles southeast of North Carolina.
According to CBS News forecasters, Erin's strength could fluctuate over the next few days.
Last week, Maryland beach officials warned beachgoers to stay out of the water as the storm brought dangerous rip currents to the East Coast. Rip currents often occur during low tide and are common near jetties and piers.
"A rip current, a wave set comes in, and suddenly—I mean immediately—you can all of a sudden feel it pulling you backwards," said Butch Arbin, captain of the Ocean City Beach Patrol. "The fact is, a fast-running rip actually can flow faster than an Olympic swimmer can swim."
On Tuesday, the National Park Service (NPS) announced beach closures around Assateague Island, on both the Maryland and Virginia sides. The island has over 30 miles of beach.
"The primary reason for that right now is extreme rip current conditions that make it unsafe for anybody to be in the water, but the surf is also building, and give it another 24 hours, the surf conditions will also be unsafe for swimmers," said Hugh Hawthrone, Superintendent of Assateague Island National Seashore.
Effective immediately, the Oversand Vehicle areas in Maryland and Virginia are closed due to flooding and beach erosion, officials said.
All of the Oceanside Beaches are closed to water activities due to dangerous rip current conditions and expected high surf, according to NPS.
The parking lots at Chincoteague Beach are partially closed, with officials expecting a full closure later.
More closures are possible as NPS officials monitor wind speeds and tidal surges caused by Hurricane Erin.
"Please stay out of the water for the next few days," Hawthorne urged. "It's not safe out there. The rip currents are extreme, and the surf is high and getting worse. By this time [Wednesday], it'll be extremely dangerous."
"You can stand on the beach, but stay away from the water, don't get too close," he added.
Find more information about closures at Assateague Island here.
For those worried about Assateague's beloved horses, Hawthorne said the conditions shouldn't be much of a problem for the longtime island residents.
"The horses are used to it; they've lived for many generations on the island," he said. "Minor hurricanes are not an issue for them. They'll just hunker down, they'll go back into the forest and hang out wherever they can get out of the wind."
Also on Tuesday, Ocean City, Maryland, officials announced the water would be closed to public access due to the dangerous conditions.
"The Town of Ocean City is anticipating dangerous surf zone conditions, large waves, and the potential for coastal flooding, according to US National Weather Service Wakefield VA," city police said in a social media post.
Ocean City Beach Patrol shared a video showing ominous breaking waves as they experienced a high rip current risk.
Lifeguards will remain on duty to remind individuals that swimming is prohibited, according to the Ocean City Beach Patrol.
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