Beaches along the New Jersey coast and in Delaware were closed Tuesday as the powerful storm churned in the Atlantic. New York City announced its beaches would close on Wednesday and Thursday.

The National Weather Service has issued a high surf advisory and warns there's a high risk of dangerous rip currents at New Jersey beaches.

Some beaches in the Delaware Valley have prohibited swimming as a precaution as Hurricane Erin moves closer to the East Coast.

Hurricane Erin chugged slowly Tuesday toward the eastern U.S., stirring up treacherous waves that already have led to dozens of water rescues and shut down beaches along the coast in the midst of summer’s last hurrah.

Hurricane Erin storm is growing bigger and stronger, and it may pose a dangerous threat to East Coast swimmers.

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.

“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.

Hurricane Erin formed early Friday, Aug. 15, marking the first hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season. Here's what to expect in NC.