RODANTHE, N.C. (AP) — Hurricane Erin, a powerful Category 2 storm, battered North Carolina’s Outer Banks on Thursday, August 21, 2025, with strong winds and waves that flooded the main highway and surged under beachfront homes. While the storm is moving away from the U.S. East Coast, its powerful outer bands continue to cause widespread hazardous conditions, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC) and reports from The Associated Press.
As the storm’s outer bands swept over the Outer Banks, water poured onto Highway 12, the primary route connecting the barrier islands. By Wednesday evening, officials had closed sections of the highway on Hatteras Island as the storm surge increased and waves rose, according to the Associated Press. The connection to the ferry terminal on Ocracoke Island was also cut off.
The NHC has warned of “life-threatening surf and currents,” with waves in some areas estimated to be as high as 18 to 20 feet, as reported by The Guardian and Fox Weather. This has led to numerous water rescues and widespread swimming bans along the East Coast, with officials urging the public to stay out of the ocean. More than 80 people were rescued from rip currents at Wrightsville Beach in North Carolina on Monday and Tuesday alone, according to a separate Associated Press report.
While some residents of the Outer Banks had decided to stay, mandatory evacuations were ordered for Hatteras and Ocracoke Islands, with officials cautioning that roads could become impassable. David Hallac, superintendent of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, told the Associated Press that dozens of beach homes, already worn down from chronic erosion, were at risk.
As of Thursday morning, Erin maintained maximum sustained winds of around 105 mph (169 kph) and was located about 210 miles (338 kilometers) east of Cape Hatteras, moving north-northeast, as reported by PBS News. While the storm’s effects are expected to peak with Thursday’s high tides, significant impacts could linger into Friday due to powerful swell energy and elevated tides. The NHC has also forecasted that Erin could regain strength and once again become a major hurricane as it moves farther out to sea, though it is not expected to make landfall on the U.S. coast.
