Hurricane Erin, the first hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic season, is making its way towards the East Coast — although, its core is not forecast to go over land.
Per Meteorologist Myles Henderson's Monday forecast, even though the core of this storm is expected to stay over the water, we will still feel the outside impacts. Coastal flooding threats will increase for Wednesday and Thursday, and ocean overwash is likely along the Outer Banks.
We'll provide updates on Hurricane Erin's movements and impacts on our area in the live blog below:
Monday, Aug. 18, 11:20 a.m. —
Cape Hatteras National Seashore announces all beaches and facilities will be closed, as coastal flooding and ocean overwash are expected as early as Tuesday morning through Thursday.
The Coastal Flood Watch indicates that extreme beach erosion and coastal damage is likely along the oceanside, resulting in a significant threat to life and property. Large, dangerous waves will likely inundate and destroy protective dune structures. Severe flooding will likely extend inland where there is vulnerable or no protective dune structure, flooding homes and businesses with some structural damage possible. Roads will likely be impassable under several feet of water and vehicles will likely be submerged.
The High Surf Advisory indicates large breaking waves of 15-20-plus feet should be expected in the surf zone. Life-threatening swimming and surfing conditions are expected, as well as wave action resulting in significant beach erosion.
Visitors should stay off the beaches completely and discontinue use of all beach trails and boardwalks beginning Tuesday morning.
Monday, Aug. 18, 11:00 a.m. —
Hurricane Erin gains strength and is expected to grow larger. Erin is centered about 110 miles north of Grand Turk Island or about 880 miles SSE of Cape Hatteras, NC. A turn to the northwest is expected later today, followed by a turn to the north on Tuesday. On the forecast track, the core of Erin is expected to pass to the east of the southeastern Bahamas today and move between Bermuda and the east coast of the United States by the middle of the week.
Maximum sustained winds have increased to near 140 mph with higher gusts. Erin is a category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Some additional strengthening is expected today. Erin will remain a dangerous major hurricane through the middle of this week.
Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 80 miles from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 230 miles
Monday, Aug. 18, 5 a.m. — Hurricane Erin is upgraded to a category 4 storm, and it will remain a large and dangerous major hurricane through the middle of this week.
Meteorologist Myles Henderson says Hurricane Erin is located just north of the southeast Bahamas. Erin is centered about 105 miles NNE of Grand Turk Island or about 915 miles SSE of Cape Hatteras, NC.
A gradual turn to the north is expected later Monday and on Tuesday. Erin is forecast to slide just off of the NC/VA coastline Wednesday to Thursday.
Erin is increasing in size. Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 80 miles from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 230 miles. Some of the outer rain bands could wrap in on Thursday with a risk for isolated tornadoes.
Sunday, Aug. 17, 8:13 p.m. — Later Sunday evening, Hyde County officials called for a state of emergency and issued a mandatory evacuation order for visitors, effective 8 p.m. Sunday, and the same order for residents, beginning 6 a.m. Tuesday.
Hyde County Press Release - Hurricane Erin #1: State of Emergency and Mandatory Evacuation of Ocracoke - Flood Watchhttps://t.co/bncmBPKjFa pic.twitter.com/soKeWPkxvB
— County of Hyde, NC (@HydeNC) August 18, 2025
"While Hurricane Erin is expected to stay well off our coast, the system will continue to increase in size and is forecast to bring life-threatening impacts to the Ocracoke coastline and render Highway 12 impassable," the Hyde County statement reads.
Sunday, Aug. 17, 6 p.m. — Dare County officials declared a state of emergency Sunday evening as Hurricane Erin is forecast to bring life-threatening impacts to the Outer Banks.
A mandatory evacuation order was issued for Hatteras Island, which is designated as Zone A. Zone A includes all of Hatteras Island, including the unincorporated villages of Rodanthe, Waves, Salvo, Avon, Buxton, Frisco and Hatteras.
- Mandatory visitor evacuation: All visitors in Zone A must evacuate beginning at 10 a.m. Monday, Aug. 18.
- Mandatory resident evacuation: All residents in Zone A must evacuate beginning at 8 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 19.
Dare County leaders recommend using Highway 64 westbound to Interstate 95 for those evacuating north, to avoid congestion through Hampton Roads.
Sunday, Aug. 17, 11:20 a.m. — Hurricane Erin is downgraded to a category 3 storm. Tropical storm force winds and heavy rain will be possible for portions of the Outer Banks and coastal flooding will likely make some roads impassible.
Saturday, Aug. 16, 8:24 p.m. — Carnival Cruise Line adjusted the itinerary for the Carnival Sunshine ahead of its scheduled departure from Norfolk on Sunday as Hurricane Erin moves through the Atlantic.
The ship was originally set for a six-day cruise beginning Aug. 17, with stops in Bermuda on Aug. 20 and 21. Instead, the cruise line says those stops have been canceled because of the storm’s forecasted path.
Saturday, Aug. 16 — Erin underwent rapid intensification and became a category 5 storm overnight. With winds sustained at 140 mph the storm is undergoing an eyewall replacement cycle. This means Erin has potentially reached maximum strength and is temporarily weaker as it begins slowing down and a new, larger eye begins to form.
Friday, Aug. 15, 5 p.m. — Erin receives a Category 1 classification. There was an agreement that the storm would continue moving west where some slight strengthening could occur.
At the time of this report, there was still slight uncertainty regarding Erin's exact path.
Friday, Aug. 15, 5 a.m. — Erin becomes the first hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic season. Erin was centered about 460 miles east of the northern Leeward Islands and moving WNW at 18 mph.
Reports from NOAA and Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter aircraft indicate that maximum sustained winds have increased to near 75 mph with higher gusts.
Thursday, Aug. 14, 5 p.m. — Erin continues to become better organized. It was forecast to become a hurricane within the next day. It was then expected to slowly continue strengthening.
It was forecast to become a major (category 3) hurricane by the end of the weekend.
Wednesday, Aug. 13 — Erin continues its journey across the Atlantic. It was centered about 1400 miles east of the northern Leeward Islands and moving west at 20 mph.
Maximum sustained winds were near 45 mph with higher gusts. Amid its gradual strengthening, Erin was forecast to become a hurricane by late Thursday or early Friday.
Tuesday, Aug. 12 — Tropical Storm Erin was tracked to be around 690 miles west of the Cabo Verde Islands. Erin was forecast to become a hurricane in the next couple of days.
Monday, Aug. 11 — A tropical storm, dubbed "Erin," forms just west of the Cabo Verde Islands, which is a few hundred miles west of Senegal.
Earlier satellite wind data indicated that maximum sustained winds were near 45 mph with higher gusts. At this time, Erin was moving westward at around 20 mph.
