Hurricane Erin spoils vacations as authorities close beaches, order evacuations on North Carolina's Outer Banks; tropical storm watches issued

Erin, the first Atlantic hurricane of 2025, played a spoilsport in the peak vacation season as it forced tourists to cut their vacations short on North Carolina’s Outer Banks. Evacuations were ordered on some barrier islands along the Carolina coast as authorities warned the storm could churn up dangerous rip currents and swamp roads with waves of 15 feet (4.6 meters).

The evacuations were ordered even though the storm is expected to stay offshore after lashing part of the Caribbean with rain and wind on Monday (August 18, 2025). Besides evacuations, tropical storm and surge watches were issued Monday (August 18, 2025) for much of the Outer Banks. According to news agency AP, officials at Wrightsville Beach, near Wilmington, North Carolina, reported to the National Weather Service rescuing at least 60 swimmers from rip currents on Monday.

Tourists and residents waited for hours in a line of cars at Ocracoke Island’s ferry dock, the only way to leave other than by plane. “We definitely thought twice,” said Seth Brotherton, of Catfish, North Carolina, whose weeklong fishing trip ended after two days, as quoted by AP. “But they said ‘mandatory’ and that pretty much means, ‘get out of here.’"


Forecasters are confident Erin will curl north and away from the eastern U.S., but it’s still expected to whip up wild waves and tropical force winds along the coastal islands, Dave Roberts of the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said.

Beaches close in New Jersey and Delaware

Several beaches in New Jersey and Delaware were closed on Monday, August 18, 2025, disrupting the peak tourist season, as the storm brought dangerous rip currents to the East Coast. The Category 3 storm was churning through the Atlantic, several hundred miles east of the Carolinas, on Tuesday morning, according to the NYT News service.

A high risk of rip currents was expected for beaches in New Jersey and Delaware through Wednesday evening (August 20, 2025), according to the National Weather Service. The closures announced Monday affected beaches in Margate, Wildwood, Bay Head, Island Beach State Park, and other popular spots along the Jersey Shore, NYT News Service reported.

In Delaware, Dewey Beach and Rehoboth Beach -- where President Joe Biden and his family have vacationed for decades -- were among those closed Monday.
Hurricane Erin intensified to Category 4

The storm intensified to a Category 4 with 140 mph (225 kph) maximum sustained winds on Monday while pelting the Turks and Caicos Islands and the southeast Bahamas, according to the center. By Monday night, sustained winds had dropped to 125 mph (200 kph) with Erin about 690 miles (1,110 kilometers) southwest of Bermuda and about 780 miles (1,255 kilometers) southeast of Cape Hatteras.

Government officials in the Turks and Caicos Islands said all services were suspended on three of its islands and ordered residents there to stay home. Some ports also closed. On North Carolina’s Outer Banks, coastal flooding was expected to begin Tuesday and continue through Thursday. The evacuations that began Monday on Hatteras Island and Ocracoke came at the height of tourist season on the thin stretch of low-lying barrier islands that jut into the Atlantic Ocean and are increasingly vulnerable to storm surges.

NHC warns of potential tropical development near Africa’s west coast

The NHC (National Hurricane Center) has warned that there are two new areas to watch for tropical development behind Hurricane Erin. The storm tracking agency has said that the system has a medium chance of development over the next seven days.

The NHC has said that disorganized thunderstorms off Africa’s coast are expected to discover favorable conditions for development as they move westward across the Atlantic toward the Caribbean islands. "Environmental conditions appear conducive for the gradual development of this system, and a tropical depression could form during the latter part of the week while moving westward to west-northwestward at about 20 mph across the central tropical Atlantic, possibly approaching the vicinity of the Leeward Islands on Friday," the NHC wrote on Monday, as quoted by Fox Weather.

Scientists link hurricanes to climate change

Scientists have linked the rapid intensification of hurricanes in the Atlantic to climate change. Global warming is causing the atmosphere to hold more water vapor and is spiking ocean temperatures, and warmer waters give hurricanes fuel to unleash more rain and strengthen more quickly.

Erin, the year’s first Atlantic hurricane, reached a dangerous Category 5 status Saturday with 160 mph (260 kph) winds before weakening. It is expected to remain a large hurricane into midweek. “You’re dealing with a major hurricane. The intensity is fluctuating. It’s a dangerous hurricane in any event,” the hurricane center’s Richard Pasch said, as quoted by AP.

Bermuda to experience severe threat

Bermuda will experience the most severe threat Thursday evening (August 21, 2025), said Phil Rogers, director of the Bermuda Weather Service. By then, waters could swell up to 24 feet (7.3 meters).

“Surfers, swimmers, and boaters must resist the temptation to go out. The waters will be very dangerous and lives will be placed at risk,” acting Minister of National Security Jache Adams was quoted by AP as saying. Erin’s outer edges hit parts of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands with heavy rains and tropical storm winds on Sunday, knocking out power to thousands.