Hurricane Erin's dangerous waves, rip currents likely to hit U.S. East Coast

Erin strengthened into a hurricane on Friday morning as the storm gradually makes its way west across the open Atlantic Ocean. Forecasters expect the storm to continue growing into a powerful Category 4 storm this weekend as it skirts north of the Lesser Antilles and starts a delicate recurve.

While the storm is unlikely to make a direct hit on the United States, dangerous waves and rip currents are likely up and down the East Coast this weekend and into early next week. Rip currents are a deadly hazard to beachgoers, claiming many lives every year even under clear and sunny skies.

A reconnaissance flight through Erin this morning found that the storm strengthened into the season's first hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph. It's a tiny storm—hurricane force winds only extend about 25 miles from the center—but it'll gradually grow in the days ahead.

Conditions are favorable for Erin to intensify into a major hurricane, and possibly into a powerful Category 4 storm, by this weekend. While the core of the storm should miss the Leeward Islands, Erin's outer bands could still bring tropical storm conditions to islands like Barbuda and St. Martin on Saturday.

We'll likely see Erin thread the needle between Bermuda and the Carolinas next week as a ridge of high pressure over the central Atlantic weakens, providing a pathway for the storm to turn northward and begin to recurve. It's still too early to tell if the system will have any impacts on Atlantic Canada.

Image courtesy of NOAA.

Dangerous waves and rip currents will be the greatest hazards for the East Coast starting this weekend and stretching well into next week.

A rip current is a strong current of water that pulls away from the beach and out to sea. Rip currents don't pull you under like you see in movies—they quickly pull you away from the shore. Many folks get caught in rip currents because these hazards look like appealing calm spots amid an otherwise choppy ocean.

The best way to avoid a rip current is to simply stay out of the water if red flags are hoisted on the beach. If you're ever caught in a rip current, don't panic! Exhaustion can lead to drowning. Calmly signal for help. If you know how to swim, swim parallel to the coastline until the rip current stops dragging you out to sea, then swim back to shore. 

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