Life-threatening rip currents and other dangers brought to the US east coast by nearby Hurricane Erin will last for at least a couple more days, officials say, as the the storm continues to head north.
The storm has already soaked parts of the Atlantic coastline, including the North Carolina Outer Banks, a system of barrier islands.
High winds and tropical storm conditions can be expected in the Mid Atlantic and southern New England coast through early Friday, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. New Jersey has declared a state of emergency.
Although Erin is still not expected to reach land, its effects are being felt in the closure of beaches and the threat of flooding and road closures.
It was still a “large and growing hurricane” with maximum sustained winds of about 105mph (165km/h), the NHC noted.
Beachgoers have been advised not to swim at most east coast beaches.
“Life-threatening surf and rip currents will be churning up and down the east coast through the next couple of days,” officials from another organisation, the National Weather Service (NWS) wrote in its own update.
A rip current is a body of water that flows out to sea, potentially dragging humans with it, while the reference to dangerous surf describes powerful waves that could post another threat to swimmers.
“Beachgoers should follow advice from lifeguards, local authorities, and beach warning flags,” the NWS advised.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency Thursday afternoon, citing up high winds, large waves and flooding expected to strike parts of the state.
“Over the past couple of days, we have seen the effects of Hurricane Erin along the Jersey Shore in the form of dangerous rip tides. Today and tomorrow will be no exception,” he said. “As the storm moves past New Jersey over the next 24 hours, we are expecting high surf and rip currents, coastal and flash flooding, and a high erosion risk in parts of the state.”
US weather experts have previously warned that the 2025 hurricane season, which runs from 1 June to 30 November, could have an above-average number of storms.
Warmer sea temperatures – made more likely by climate change – and generally favourable atmospheric conditions, are behind the forecast.
At the same time, cuts to American research are raising fears about the ability to track and prepare for these often deadly storms.
In North Carolina, which is still recovering from last year’s Hurricane Helene, a state of emergency was declared earlier in the week by Governor Josh Stein.
Stein implored swimmers to stop entering waters off the coast after dozens of people needed to be rescued off Wrightsville Beach on Monday.
In the Outer Banks, the communities of Hatteras and Ocracoke were ordered to be evacuated, due to a fear they could become disconnected from other islands.
A 96-year-old motel owner on Hatteras, Carol Dillon, told the BBC’s US partner CBS News that “at my age, you take what comes”.
But she feared that the storm could eat away at the land on which her premises was built. “This is our livelihood,” she explained. “We could lose those two buildings that are in the water right now. I’m hoping we won’t – I do a lot of praying.”
Erin, the first hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic season, reached category-five status on Saturday. It has fluctuated in strength since then, and is currently designated category-two.
In Turks and Caicos, an overseas British territory, authorities suspended public services on the largest island while the storm was passing.
More than 150,000 people were left without power for a time in the US island territory of Puerto Rico after high winds damaged electricity lines, according to local energy company Luma.
