Hurricane Erin is already creating dangerous beach conditions in New Jersey and Delaware on Tuesday, with the worst of the waves and rip currents not expected until Thursday. From Point Pleasant to Rehoboth Beach,

Hurricane Erin, now a Category 2 storm, is causing significant beach closures and evacuations from North Carolina to New England due to hazardous surf conditions, rip currents, and potential flooding.

Cape Hatteras, NC — Hurricane Erin continued its northward churn through the Atlantic on Tuesday, threatening dangerous surf and coastal flooding from the Bahamas to the U.S. East Coast, as tropical storm warnings and storm surge alerts were issued for parts of North Carolina’s Outer Banks ahead of the storm’s closest approach late Wednesday.

Hurricane Erin far off the Massachusetts coast will still spark ‘life-threatening swimming and surfing conditions’

“Certainly, Erin is not helping,” said Mike Lee, meteorologist with the National Weather Service Office in Mount Holly. But the surf on Monday primarily was being stirred by strong onshore winds, gusting up to 35 mph, behind a front that came through Sunday night and triggered surprising downpours in parts of the region.

Get an abbreviated, text view of what's happening with Hurricane Erin. Hurricane Erin was a Category 4 storm again Monday morning and is expected to grow even larger and stronger, according to the latest advisory from the National Hurricane Center.