Hurricane Erin is marching north, lashing North Carolina's Outer Banks with rough waves and coastal flooding, and bringing a threat of dangerous waves and potentially deadly rip currents to the East Coast.
Due to the high surf and rip current risk, New York City is extending its swimming ban.
Beaches were at first closed to swimming on Wednesday and Thursday, and now will also be closed for swimming on Friday. Wading is also not allowed, officials said.
A surfer tries to get in the water, past big waves bolstered by Hurricane Erin, at Rockaway Beach in the Queens borough of New York, Aug. 21, 2025.
Seth Wenig/AP
A red "No Swimming" flag is seen in Rockaway Beach amid Hurricane Erin, on Aug. 21, 2025, in Rockaway Peninsula in the Queens borough in New York.
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
Aug 21, 2025, 2:25 PM EDT
Latest flooding, wave and rip current threats
Erin, a massive Category 2 hurricane more than 700 miles wide, is located about 285 miles east of North Carolina’s Outer Banks and is moving northeast through the Atlantic.
Hurricane Erin - Tracking the Storm Map
ABC News
Tropical storm and storm surge warnings remain in effect for the Outer Banks, where wind gusts could reach 50 mph and the surge could climb to 4 feet.
Coastal flood alerts are in effect from the Carolinas up to coastal Connecticut, where 1 to 3 feet of inundation is possible in low-lying areas.
Large waves and flooding may inundate property and roads along the coastline, especially in the Outer Banks.
Waves hit the shoreline in Long Beach, New York, on August 21, 2025.
Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images
Hurricane Erin will weaken as it moves away from the East Coast over the next 24 hours, but coastal impacts -- especially in the Northeast -- will linger through Friday and potentially into Saturday.
High surf advisories continue from Florida to Maine.
The peak of the waves along the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast beaches will be Thursday and Friday. Waves could reach 17 feet from the Outer Banks to New Jersey to New York.
Waves could climb to 20 feet in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Maine Thursday night through Saturday.
Dangerous Surf - Current Alerts Map
ABC News
The rip current danger is high from Florida to Maine on Thursday, and the threat will last through Friday.
Rip Current Risk - Thursday Map
ABC News
-ABC News’ Melissa Griffin
Aug 21, 2025, 1:23 PM EDT
No one should be in the ocean in New Jersey, governor warns
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy warned on Thursday that “life-threatening rip currents will be present at all ocean beaches across the state” the next few days due to Hurricane Erin.
"Absolutely no one should be in the water today or tomorrow," he wrote on social media.
People stand on the beach next to no swimming flags amid winds from Hurricane Erin, the first hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic season, in Seaside Heights, New Jersey, August 20, 2025.
Eduardo Munoz/Reuters
Murphy has declared a state of emergency for New Jersey. He said winds could reach 50 mph, waves could be as high as 17 feet and 1 to 3 feet of water could inundate some flood-prone areas.
Aug 21, 2025, 11:25 AM EDT
Latest forecast
Hurricane Erin is about 260 miles east of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and is quickly moving away from the East Coast.
Erin is very large in size, with hurricane-force winds extending out to 105 miles from its center and tropical storm-force winds extending out to 320 miles from its center.
Coastal flooding and tropical storm-force winds are ongoing along coastal parts of North Carolina and Virginia.