Hurricane Erin live updates: New Jersey under state of emergency as three more potential tropical storms being tracked
Hurricane Erin has battered North Carolina’s Outer Banks with strong winds and waves and is now moving north and out into the Atlantic.
The Category 2 storm continues to produce dangerous surf and rip currents along the East Coast and is expected to do so over the next few days, according to the National Hurricane Center. The hurricane, which is forecast to weaken and become a post-tropical storm over the weekend, is not predicted to make landfall in the U.S.
New Jersey officials have declared a state of emergency and advised residents to stay out of the water on Thursday and Friday due to “life-threatening” rip currents caused by the hurricane.
As Erin’s outer bands brushed the Outer Banks, water flooded the main route connecting the barrier islands and a few stilted homes perched precariously above the beach. More than 2,000 people were evacuated from Ocracoke Island by ferry, according to the governor’s office.
The hurricane formed on August 11 from a tropical wave that moved across the Cape Verde Islands and was upgraded on August 15, becoming one of the fastest-intensifying on record.
There are now three other areas of concern being watched in the Atlantic that could develop into tropical storm systems.
