RODANTHE, N.C. (AP) — From Florida to New England, people trying to enjoy the last hurrahs of summer along the coast were met with rip-current warnings, closed beaches and in some cases already treacherous waves as Hurricane Erin inched closer Wednesday.
While forecasters remain confident that the center of the monster storm will stay far offshore, the outer edges are expected to bring high winds, large swells and life-threatening rip currents into Friday. But the biggest swells along the East Coast could come as early as Wednesday.
New York City closed its beaches to swimming on Wednesday and Thursday, and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul ordered three state beaches on Long Island to prohibit swimming through Thursday. Several New Jersey beaches also will be temporarily off-limits, while some towns in Delaware have cut off ocean access.
Off Massachusetts, Nantucket Island could see waves of more than 10 feet (3 meters) later this week. But the biggest threat is along the barrier islands of North Carolina’s Outer Banks, where evacuations have been ordered.
Erin has become an unusually large and deceptively worrisome storm, with its tropical storm winds stretching 230 miles (370 kilometers) from its core. Forecasters expect it will grow larger in size as it moves through the Atlantic and curls north.
On Tuesday it lashed the Turks and Caicos Islands, where government services were suspended and residents were ordered to stay home, along with parts of the Bahamas before its expected turn toward Bermuda.
Tropical storm watches were issued for Virginia and North Carolina as well as Bermuda.
Erin lost some strength from previous days and was a Category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds around 100 mph (155 kph), the National Hurricane Center in Miami said. It was about 495 miles (795 kilometers) south-southeast of North Carolina’s Cape Hatteras.
On the Outer Banks, Erin’s storm surge could swamp roads with waves of 15 feet (4.6 meters). Mandatory…