STORM WATCH: Hurricane Erin Approaches U.S. East Coast

 

BY C STONE | STONE NEWS NETWORK ||| WEATHER NEWS

Source: NPR

There's a good chance Hurricane Erin, a CAT 4 storm, might skip the U.S. coastline and coast out to the Atlantic ocean.

However, meteorologists are warning that a dangerous storm surge still could be produced during the next few days.

via NPR:

As of Tuesday, everyone on Hatteras and Ocracoke islands in the Outer Banks was under mandatory evacuation orders. Authorities want people to leave before seawater overtakes Highway 12, the main road connecting a long string of North Carolina communities. By Tuesday afternoon, water was beginning to flow onto parts of the road.

Dare County Emergency Management Director Drew Pearson issued a blunt message to people in the area: "I encourage all residents and visitors to heed the evacuation order and take action to protect themselves, to protect their property, and to get up and leave — now."

Once the water arrives, the National Weather Service office in Morehead City, N.C., warns, roads and cars in low-lying areas will likely be inundated for days.

From Florida up to Long Island, New York, there's a high risk of "life-threatening surf and rip currents," the National Hurricane Center says. Anyone who wants to go to an East Coast beach this week, the agency adds, should consult a local or national map of rip current risks.

The latest forecasts have nudged Erin's predicted track more toward the west, increasing the chance for impacts on land. And while the system's intensity has fallen since its winds zoomed up to nearly 160 mph over the weekend, the hurricane center says the storm's massive size, rather than its windspeeds, is what makes it a threat.