In a rush? Get an abbreviated, text view of what’s happening with Hurricane Erin.
Hurricane Erin is gradually pulling away from the U.S., but coastal flooding and tropical storm conditions continue across portions of the North Carolina and Virginia coastline, according to the 5 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 21, advisory from the National Hurricane Center.
Erin is still a Category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 100 mph.
➤Hurricane Erin to bring ‘powerful’ 20-foot waves along East Coast
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Officials continue to warn beachgoers to stay out of the water due to dangerous surf and life-threatening rip currents.
In Florida, Erin’s impacts continued to be felt along the coast, with breakers expected up to 8 feet in Northeast Florida and up to 7 feet along the east central coast, according to the National Weather Service.
Hurricane Erin projected path. See current location
Special note on the NHC cone: The 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.
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North Carolina, mid-Atlantic feeling impacts from Hurricane Erin. See watches, warnings
The National Weather Service in Morehead City, North Carolina, warned residents about 7 a.m. that Erin was making its closest approach to the coast, about 200 miles east-southeast of Cape Hatteras. Tropical-storm-force winds were expected Thursday morning on the Outer Banks.
“Significant impacts are underway. Coastal flooding, storm surge and overwash will peak today into this evening. Impacts will last through Friday (Aug. 22) in some spots.
“This will be a long duration event for the Outer Banks, impacting Highway 12 through late week.”
Waves up to 20 feet in the surf zone were expected to bring “extensive beach erosion.”
Several watches associated with Erin have been issued for areas along the east coast:
➤ NC 12 may be ‘impassable’ for days due to Hurricane Erin over wash. See evacuation routes
See peak storm surge forecast from Hurricane Erin
Spaghetti models for Hurricane Erin. See projected path
Special note about 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.
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What impacts is Hurricane Erin having on Florida Aug. 21?
Erin continues to bring frequent and life-threatening rip currents to Northeast Florida beaches. Breakers could be 5 to 8 feet.
Along east central Florida beaches, life-threatening rip currents continue Thursday, along with 5-7 foot breakers.
How strong is Hurricane Erin and where is it going now?
At 5 p.m., the center of Hurricane Erin was located near latitude 36.4 North, longitude 69.1 West.
Erin is moving toward the northeast near 20 mph. A faster northeastward to east-northeastward motion is expected during the next couple of days.
On the forecast track, the center of Erin will move over the western Atlantic between the U.S. east coast and Bermuda through early Friday, and then pass south of Atlantic Canada Friday and Saturday.
Maximum sustained winds are near 100 mph, with higher gusts.
Gradual weakening is forecast during the next couple of days. Erin is expected to become post-tropical on Saturday.
Erin is a very large hurricane. Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 105 miles from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 320 miles.
Watches and warnings issued for Hurricane Erin
Hazards affecting land from Hurricane Erin
Wind: Tropical storm conditions will continue to affect portions of the North Carolina and Virginia coastline for the next few hours. Elsewhere along the mid-Atlantic and southern New England coast, wind gusts to tropical storm force are likely through early Friday. Tropical storm conditions are expected on Bermuda late this afternoon through early Friday. Gusts to gale force are possible along portions of the coast of Nova Scotia on Friday and the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland on Saturday.
Surf: Swells generated by Erin will affect the Bahamas, Bermuda, the east coast of the United States, and Atlantic Canada during the next several days. These rough ocean conditions are expected to cause life-threatening surf and rip currents.
Storm surge: The combination of a dangerous storm surge and the tide will cause normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded by rising waters moving inland from the shoreline. The water could reach the following heights above ground somewhere in the indicated areas if the peak surge occurs at the time of high tide:
The deepest water will occur along the immediate coast where the surge will be accompanied by large and dangerous waves. Surge-related flooding depends on the relative timing of the surge and the tidal cycle, and can vary greatly over short distances.
Key messages from the National Hurricane Center: What you need to know about Hurricane Erin
Current forecast: How strong could Hurricane Erin get?
Hurricane categories: Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale
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This story has been updated to include new information.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: See impacts after Hurricane Erin makes closest approach to US. Is Cat 2 storm done with Florida?
Reporting by Cheryl McCloud and Ashley Ferrer, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Treasure Coast Newspapers
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
