Maps show Hurricane Erin’s path off East Coast as North Carolina braces for rough conditions: “Batten down the hatches”

Hurricane Erin threatened North Carolina with coastal flooding and strong winds as the large storm moved on a projected path up the Atlantic Ocean, officials said Wednesday. The hurricane isn’t expected to make landfall in the U.S., but evacuation orders were issued for parts of the state’s Outer Banks as the East Coast was warned of life-threatening surf and rip currents.

“When there is flooding, there is great risk of death, and what we don’t want is for people to die,” North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein, who declared a state of emergency ahead of the storm’s expected rough conditions, said during a briefing Wednesday. He added, “If you have not evacuated, make sure you batten down the hatches.”

What category is Hurricane Erin?

Erin, the first Atlantic hurricane of 2025, was a Category 2 storm Wednesday as it churned over the Atlantic north of the Caribbean. It exploded to a Category 5 on Saturday before being downgraded as its strength fluctuated in recent days. It’s forecast to retain hurricane strength into the weekend.

As of 11 p.m. EDT Wednesday, Erin had maximum sustained winds of 110 mph and was moving north at 16 mph, according to the Miami-based National Hurricane Center. The storm’s center was about 215 miles south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and 485 miles west of Bermuda.

Erin’s outer bands were “brushing” North Carolina’s Outer Banks Wednesday night, the hurricane center said. Forecasters advised beachgoers to avoid swimming at most beaches on the East Coast due to life-threatening surf and rip currents. Tropical storm conditions were forecast to hit the Outer Banks and Virginia coastline beginning early Thursday morning. 

The hurricane center also said Erin is likely to begin weakening by Thursday night or Friday, but the storm is still expected to remain a hurricane into the weekend.

A Category 2 hurricane is defined as having maximum sustained winds from 96 mph to 110 mph. Erin was just under what’s considered a major storm, capable of causing devastating damage with maximum sustained winds of at least 111 mph. Forecasters said some strengthening was possible during the next day or so.

Maps show Hurricane Erin’s forecast path

The center of the storm was expected to move over the western Atlantic between the U.S. East Coast and Bermuda on Wednesday through early Friday, then pass south of Atlantic Canada on Friday and Saturday, the National Hurricane Center said.

Erin was a large storm, with hurricane-force winds extending outward up to 105 miles from the center and tropical storm-force winds extending up to 265 miles from the center, forecasters said.

Tropical storm warnings were in effect from Beaufort Inlet, North Carolina, to Chincoteague, Virginia, including Pamlico and Albemarle sounds. A tropical storm watch was posted for Bermuda. A tropical storm warning means tropical storm conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area, while a watch means they are possible.

A storm surge warning was also issued for the Outer Banks, meaning there was a danger of life-threatening inundation from coastal flooding that was expected to start Wednesday.

Hurricane Erin’s “spaghetti models”

A “spaghetti map” of the forecast models shows the storm skirting the Caribbean islands and remaining well offshore of the U.S. East Coast as it moves north and curves back over the Atlantic.

A high-pressure system in the Atlantic was expected to steer Erin away from the U.S. coast while a cold front was also forecast to push the hurricane offshore, CBS News Bay Area meteorologist Jessica Burch reported.

When is Hurricane Erin expected to impact the U.S.?

Erin isn’t forecast to hit the U.S. directly. Tropical storm conditions were expected for parts of the Outer Banks and the Virginia coastline starting late Wednesday, when Erin was expected to begin making its closest pass to the coast.

Shortly after 5 p.m. ET on Wednesday, National Hurricane Center Director Dr. Michael Brennan said Erin would be making its closest approach to the U.S. over the next six to 12 hours. Brennan said conditions would “quickly deteriorate” along the North Carolina coast during that time.

Gusts along the North Carolina coast Wednesday night were forecast to range between 25 mph to 50 mph, according to the National Weather Service office for Newport/Morehead City.

Forecasters warned of dangerous storm surge combining with high tide could flood areas with as much as 2 feet to 4 feet of water. Mandatory evacuations were ordered for Hatteras Island and Ocracoke Island in the Outer Banks ahead of the expected flooding.

Rough ocean conditions were also expected to cause life-threatening surf and rip currents. Hatteras and Ocracoke islands were vulnerable to waves of 15 feet to 20 feet, forecasters said. The dangerous conditions resulted in dozens of people being rescued this week in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina.

Mike Brennan, the hurricane center’s director, said the dangerous conditions were expected to last for much of the week across almost the entire East Coast. He urged people to heed any warnings from local officials.

“It’s just not going to be a very safe environment to be in the ocean,” Brennan said.

Rip currents a potentially deadly threat

Rip currents are narrow channels of fast-moving water that commonly occur along U.S. coastlines and can pull even strong swimmers away from shore. They’re the reason for more than 80% of beach rescues.

In addition to the warnings along the North Carolina coast, some beaches ranging from South Florida up to New England are also taking precautions.

Erin is expected to bring dangerous rip currents along the Jersey Shore and south-facing New York beaches, CBS News New York reported, with the risk continuing through the week. Officials at some New Jersey beaches and the popular summer destination of Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, have already prohibited swimming as a precaution, and more closures may follow.

“You’re allowed on the beach, but you will not be allowed in the water because we have treacherous conditions going on right now,” said Ed Schneider, beach patrol captain in Wildwood, New Jersey, told CBS News Philadelphia. “We have a rip current warning, we have [a] rough surf warning, we have [a] storm warning, and conditions are bad.”

First hurricane of the Atlantic season

Erin formed as a tropical storm last week west of the island nation of Cabo Verde, a few hundred miles off Africa’s western coast. It is the fifth named storm of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season, which started in June and runs through November. Erin strengthened to a hurricane on Friday.

So far this year, Tropical Storm Chantal is the only one to have made landfall in the U.S., bringing deadly flooding to North Carolina in early July. In June, Barry made landfall as a tropical depression on Mexico’s eastern coast.

Erin’s increased strength comes as the Atlantic hurricane season approaches its peak in September. According to the hurricane center, most of the season’s activity typically happens between mid-August and mid-October. In the eastern Pacific Ocean, hurricane season starts on May 15 with a peak in activity typically seen in late August.

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, forecast an above-normal season for the Atlantic this year, expecting between 13 and 18 named storms.

Tropical storms have maximum sustained winds of at least 39 mph. Forecasters with NOAA anticipated that between five and nine of the storms this year could become hurricanes, which have sustained winds of at least 74 mph. Hurricanes are rated on a scale based on their wind speeds, ranging from Category 1, the weakest, to Category 5, the most severe rating.

NOAA forecasters predicted there could be between two and five major hurricanes in the Atlantic this season.

Nikki Nolan

contributed to this report.