What to know about powerful Hurricane Erin as it heads past the US East Coast
Hurricane Erin was creating potentially deadly water conditions all along the East Coast days before the largest waves are expected, even as the strength of the storm weakened on Tuesday.
Erin lost some strength and dropped to a Category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph (165 kph), the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.
It was about 630 miles (1,015 kilometers) southwest of Bermuda and 655 miles (1,050 kilometers) south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Forecasters said Erin was moving north-northwest at 10 mph (17 kph).
Although the weather center was confident Erin would not make direct landfall in the United States, authorities have warned that water conditions along the East Coast remain dangerous. Officials on a few islands along North Carolina’s Outer Banks issued evacuation orders and warned that some roads could be swamped by waves of 15 feet (4.6 meters).
In the Caribbean, heavy rainfall was forecast for parts of the southeast Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands, the weather center said.
Here is what to know about Hurricane Erin:
The dangers in the Outer Banks
North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein declared a state of emergency Tuesday in advance of the storm, delegating to government officials powers to mobilize workers and equipment along the coast.
Forecasters say Erin will turn northeast — and away — from the eastern U.S. Still, the governor said the storm is expected to bring tropical storm force winds, dangerous waves and rip currents to North Carolina’s coast. Coastal flooding was expected to begin Tuesday.
On Monday, at least 60 people were rescued from rip currents in Wrightsville Beach, near Wilmington, North Carolina, officials said.
Evacuations were ordered on Hatteras Island and Ocracoke Island. The orders come at the height of tourist season on the thin stretch of low-lying barrier islands that juts far into the Atlantic Ocean.
There are concerns that several days of heavy surf, high winds and waves could wash out parts of the main highway running along the barrier islands, the National Weather Service said. Some routes could be impassible for several days.
Troubled waters force rescues
Warnings about rip currents have been posted from Bermuda and Florida to the New England coast. The biggest threat is along the barrier islands of North Carolina’s Outer Banks.
Nantucket was closest to Erin’s anticipated path in New England and was likely to see the strongest winds, gusting about 25 to 35 mph (40 to 55 kph) at peak with waves potentially reaching a height of 10-13 feet (3-4 meters).
Officials prohibited swimming at all beaches in New York City, as well as some in Long Island and New Jersey, through Thursday, citing treacherous waters.
Bermuda won’t feel the full intensity of the storm until Thursday evening, and the island’s services will remain open in the meantime, acting Minister of National Security Jache Adams said. Storm surge could reach up to 24 feet (7.3 meters) by Thursday, Adams said.
Already this year, there have been at least 27 people killed from rip currents in U.S. waters, according to the National Weather Service. About 100 people drown from rip currents along U.S. beaches each year, according to the United States Lifesaving Association. And more than 80% of beach rescues annually involve rip currents.
Deceptively devastating impacts
Storm surge is the level at which seawater rises above its normal level.
Much like the way a storm’s sustained winds do not include the potential for even stronger gusts, storm surge doesn’t include the wave height above the mean water level.
Surge is also the amount above what the normal tide is at a time, so a 15-foot storm surge at high tide can be far more devastating than the same surge at low tide.
A year ago, Hurricane Ernesto stayed hundreds of miles offshore from the U.S. Eastern Seaboard yet still produced high surf and swells that caused coastal damage.
Fluctuating strength
Erin’s strength has fluctuated significantly over the past week.
The most common way to measure a hurricane’s strength is the Saffir-Simpson Scale that assigns a category from 1 to 5 based on a storm’s sustained wind speed at its center, with 5 being the strongest.
Erin reached a dangerous Category 5 status late last week with 160 mph (260 kph) winds before weakening. It dropped to a Category 2 hurricane on Tuesday.
Lethal summer of floods
Although Erin is the first Atlantic hurricane of the year, there have been four tropical storms this hurricane season already. Tropical Storm Chantal made the first U.S. landfall of the season in early July, and its remnants caused flooding in North Carolina that killed an 83-year-old woman when her car was swept off a rural road.
And, at least 132 people were killed in floodwaters that overwhelmed Texas Hill Country on the Fourth of July.
Just over a week later, flash floods inundated New York City and parts of New Jersey, claiming two lives.
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Riddle is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
By SAFIYAH RIDDLE
Associated Press/Report For America
