Hurricane Erin updates: Storm weakens to Category 1, moves away from US coastline

Hurricane Erin is not making landfall in the U.S.

Last Updated: August 22, 2025, 2:53 PM EDT

Hurricane Erin has weakened to a Category 1 storm after 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.

Key Headlines

Here's how the news is developing.
Aug 22, 2025, 8:44 AM EDT

Erin races east but lingering impacts still pose a threat to some areas

As of Friday morning, Hurricane Erin continued to move northeast and is weaker than days prior, with maximum winds down to 90 mph and all tropical storm warnings discontinued.

ABC News
ABC News

Erin is still a very large storm impacting the East Coast with coastal flooding, dangerous surf and breezy conditions.

Coastal flood alerts remain in effect from the Carolinas to Long Island and Coastal New England where 1 to 2 feet of inundations is possible in low-lying areas with high tide through Saturday.

While the worst of Erin has already passed and the storm will continue to race away from the U.S. into the weekend, there will still be some lingering impacts -- including beach erosion and coastal damage from large waves and coastal flooding along the shoreline.

-ABC News’ Kyle Reiman

Aug 21, 2025, 3:30 PM EDT

New York City extends swimming ban

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.

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