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Erin Weakens to Category 3 as Dangerous Surf Forces Outer Banks Evacuations

With the core staying offshore, a growing swell will push dangerous water onto the Outer Banks, threatening Highway 12.

People fish along the shore in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, as Hurricane Erin brings rains to the island, Sunday, Aug. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Alejandro Granadillo)
This NHC graphic highlights features being monitored in the Atlantic, with the tropical waves in orange and yellow, and Erin in red.
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Overview

  • Now a major hurricane, Erin is forecast to turn north between the U.S. East Coast and Bermuda with the core remaining offshore through midweek.
  • Mandatory evacuations are in place for Hatteras and Ocracoke islands, with coastal flooding expected to begin Tuesday and peak Wednesday into Thursday.
  • Forecasters warn of life‑threatening surf and rip currents from the Bahamas to Atlantic Canada, with 15–20+ foot waves likely to overtop dunes and inundate parts of North Carolina’s Highway 12.
  • Alerts include a tropical storm warning for the Turks and Caicos and the southeast Bahamas, a tropical storm watch for the central Bahamas and parts of the North Carolina coast, and a storm surge watch from Cape Lookout to Duck.
  • Puerto Rico saw about 147,000 power outages that are now mostly restored, and a trailing tropical wave has a 60% chance of development, signaling continued hazardous marine conditions.