08/19/2025

Hurricane Erin to Deliver Dangerous Coastal Flooding to North Carolina

The risk for life-threatening waves, coastal flooding will rise through Thursday

Hurricane Erin, now a Category 2 storm, was churning east of the Bahamas as of Tuesday morning. Though the storm is days away from passing offshore of the Eastern Seaboard, North Carolina’s Outer Banks are bracing for serious impacts in the coming days.

The storm will pass just over 200 miles offshore on Thursday, but the storm’s expanding wind and wave field means starting late Tuesday — but especially Wednesday and Thursday — coastal flooding, dangerous surf, ocean overwash and beach erosion can be expected in the area.

Evacuation orders are in place for Dare and Hyde counties — including Ocracoke and Hatteras islands. For residents of these islands, evacuation orders begin at 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. on Tuesday, respectively, in anticipation that North Carolina Highway 12, which links the islands of the Outer Banks — may become impassable during the high tide just after 5 p.m. The storm will make its closest approach late Wednesday through Thursday, coinciding with high tide cycles.

Please select this link to read the complete article from The Washington Post.