"Over the past couple of days, we have seen the effects of Hurricane Erin along the Jersey Shore in the form of dangerous rip tides. Today and tomorrow will be no exception," Murphy said. "As the storm moves past New Jersey over the next 24 hours, we are expecting high surf and rip currents, coastal and flash flooding, and a high erosion risk in parts of the state."
New York City will close its beaches to swimming again on Friday, and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul ordered three state beaches on Long Island to prohibit swimming through Thursday.
As of the 11:00 a.m. update, Erin was located 260 miles east of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, quickly moving away from the East Coast. It is moving NNE at 18 mph.
Erin is expected to continue speeding away from the East Coast through Friday.
Hurricane-force winds extend out to 105 miles from its center and tropical-storm-force winds extend out to 320 miles from its center.
As Erin's outer bands brushed North Carolina's Outer Banks, waves broke through dunes on Hatteras and Ocracoke Islands and swamped the main route connecting the barrier islands. Parts of Highway 12 remained closed Thursday, and Ocracoke's connection to its ferry terminal was cut off.
Farther north, on Jennette's Pier in Nags Head, where sustained winds reached 45 mph (72 kph) early Thursday, dozens who rode out the storm were taking photos of the huge waves crashing into the structure amid the driving rain.
"This is nature at her best," David Alan Harvey of Nags Head said Thursday morning. "I love this. I love these storms."
INTERVIEW: NYC coastal flooding risks
More than a dozen shore communities in New Jersey have closed beaches. Red flag warnings are up, access to the sand is prohibited and even the sea gulls seem to know when Mother Nature shows this kind of intensity, it's better to stay grounded.
Erin may have been hundreds of miles out to sea, but the rush of waves made the storm feel a lot closer as early as Wednesday at the Point Pleasant boardwalk. In fact, it forced the folks at Martell's Tiki Bar to take down the beach portion of the popular hangout.
In Asbury Park, some of the lifeguards were kept on the clock until 8 p.m. just in case they were needed. Chief lifeguard Joe Bongiovanni says visitors were good at obeying the red flag warning on Wednesday. They are bracing for the storm to cause even more dangerous conditions.
"We're at a new moon, so we have the exceptionally high tide because of that. Now, tomorrow (Thursday), they're talking about a tidal surge of maybe four feet when you add the height of the waves and they're talking about eight or nine foot waves on top of that. They expect the water to be coming up close to the boardwalk." he said.
The constant rain has kept the boardwalk fairly empty on Wednesday with a sparse flow of visitors trying to make the best of their vacation.
"Unfortunately, we couldn't go swimming today, so I'm shopping," Christina Ullrich said.
The state closed swimming and other activities at Island Beach State Park until further notice because of the hurricane. Other shore communities have closed beaches and put up red flags indicating swimming is not allowed.
The Monmouth County sheriff says it's not just the beaches to be wary of.
"We'll continue to monitor the power outages," said Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden. "Certainly, with the wind and the rain it could add to it, but we're really concerned when we have this kind of pressure off our coast and leading to 8 or 10 foot storm surge, that high tide that we'll generally see particularly around 6 p.m. tomorrow, that's when we'll look at some roadway flooding."
NJ state leaders and residents brace for remnants of Hurricane Erin
Beaches were closed to swimming again Thursday in New York City, but that didn't stop more than a dozen surfers from taking on the waves at Rockaway Beach in Queens.
Widespread, moderate coastal flooding was forecast for parts of the city and low-lying areas of Long Island.
Hurricane Erin to slam NY and NJ beaches with dangerous rip currents
It was a day about the "spray"anywhere along the South Shore of Long Island. The Atlantic Ocean was putting on a show.
"I love it. This is the thing we live for, we love to take pictures," Theresa Leon of Commack said.
But the waves were just as unpredictable as they were powerful, so if you're looking for that perfect shot, you had to be quick.
Lots of spectators came out as the ocean had them both mesmerized and concerned about the beaches.
At Jones Beach in Nassau County, they were moving sand around after a tremendous amount of coastal flooding.
Executives of both Nassau and Suffolk counties spoke at a joint press conference pledging to pool resources to better weather the unpredictable together.
"We have a great working relationship with Suffolk County. We share assets, we share information," Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman said.
"Yes, this hurricane avoided us. Yes, at the last moment it turned east, but had it turned west... this is some serious storm," Suffolk County Executive Edward Romaine said.
Hurricane Erin causes concerns over beach erosion, coastal flooding
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Some information from the Associated Press
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