Hurricane Erin to cause dangerous high surf, rip currents on MA beaches. Here's when
Hurricane Erin strengthened to a Category 5 storm over the weekend, and then started loosing power. It's currently a Category 4 storm with wind speeds of 130 mph, according to the National Weather Service.
It is expected to strengthen again. Even with weakening forecast beginning Monday night, Aug. 18, Erin will remain a "large and dangerous major hurricane" through the middle of this week.
Here's what to know about the major problem Erin could cause in Massachusetts.
Erin expected to cause rip currents, high surf
The National Weather Service reported in its online forecaster's discussion that rip currents could be a huge problem at Bay State beaches, starting Tuesday and possibly lasting into Friday.
"The main concern this week though is for High Surf and Dangerous rip currents to ocean exposed beaches (Tuesday evening) through (Friday)," according to the forecaster's discussion.
It continues, a "large southerly swell will result in high surf and dangerous rip currents. This is particularly true across our south facing beaches with the large southerly swell...Given the dry/nice weather and the fact that ocean water temperatures are at their climatological warmest there are likely to be a lot of beachgoers/swimmers. A High Surf Advisory will need to be issued shortly as early as for (Tuesday) afternoon and perhaps continuing through Friday."
The dangerous surf conditions will impact the entire East coast.
'Erin will churn up rough surf and dangerous rip currents along the Atlantic coastline from Florida all the way north to Maine starting this weekend into next week...a major hurricane in the open Atlantic can produce very rough surf that will impact beaches hundreds of miles away," AccuWeather meteorologist Alex Dasilva added in a statement last week.
What are rip currents?
They are powerful channels of fast-moving water, and they have killed about 50 people in the U.S. so far this year, according to a release last week from AccuWeather.
If you are caught in a rip current, officials advise you to swim parallel to the shore until you are out of the channel, AccuWeather noted in the release.
Hurricane Erin path tracker
This forecast track shows the most likely path of the center of the storm. It does not illustrate the full width of the storm or its impacts, and the center of the storm is likely to travel outside the cone up to 33% of the time.
Hurricane Erin spaghetti models
Illustrations include an array of forecast tools and models, and not all are created equal. The hurricane center uses only the top four or five highest-performing models to help make its forecasts.
National Hurricane Center keeping tabs on another tropical wave in the Atlantic
In addition to Erin, the hurricane center said it is also keeping an eye on a tropical wave located over the eastern tropical Atlantic that is producing disorganized showers and thunderstorms.
Forecasters said in an Aug. 18 advisory that environmental conditions appear conducive for gradual development of this system, and a tropical depression could form during the latter part of this week.
The system is forecast to move westward to west-northwestward and approach the vicinity of the Leeward Islands.
Where is Hurricane Erin expected to have the most impact?
The Outer Banks of North Carolina are currently under evacuation orders because of the storm, while the Turks and Caicos and the Bahamas are under tropical storm warnings and watches, with flooding expected, according to ABC News.
What's the hurricane outlook for the 2025 season?
The AccuWeather 2025 Atlantic hurricane season forecast is predicting 13-18 named storms, including 7-10 hurricanes, adding "Three to six direct U.S. impacts are forecast, the same range as last year's catastrophic season with six landfalls."
The report noted that the climatological peak of hurricane season begins Sept. 10.
What is the NOAA forecast on hurricanes in 2025?
NOAA is forecasting a range of 13 to 19 total named storms. Of those, 6 to 10 are forecast to become hurricanes, including 3 to 5 major hurricanes.
Gabe Hauari contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Hurricane Erin's track could cause dangerous conditions on MA beaches
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