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Hurricane Erin Nears U.S. Coast as North Carolina Orders Outer Banks Evacuations

Forecasters expect an offshore track that still brings life‑threatening surf with coastal flooding along the Eastern Seaboard.

Overview

  • Erin is a Category 2 hurricane with sustained winds near 155–161 km/h, and the National Hurricane Center has posted tropical‑storm and marine warnings for parts of North Carolina.
  • Governor Josh Stein declared a state of emergency, with mandatory evacuations for Ocracoke and Hatteras where roughly 1,800 residents and visitors were told to leave and flooding was reported on Highway 12.
  • Authorities closed or restricted swimming at beaches from New York and New Jersey to Long Island, and more than 60 swimmers were rescued earlier this week at Wrightsville Beach in North Carolina.
  • Forecast guidance indicates the storm will pass between Bermuda and the U.S. coast without a direct landfall, with meteorologists warning of dangerous rip currents and the potential for re‑intensification over warmer waters.
  • The cyclone previously peaked as a Category 5 with winds around 255 km/h, and outlooks suggest a late‑August push across the North Atlantic that could bring wind and rain to Ireland, the U.K., western France and the Iberian Peninsula.