WOAY-TV (Oak Hill, WV): Hurricane Erin is currently a category 4 hurricane with sustained winds up to 130 MPH currently moving slowly to the north west. The storm is currently impacting the island of Hispaniola and Turks and Caicos with tropical storm force winds and rain, along with storm surge. Erin is also expected to cause life-threatening rip currents across the eastern coast from today onwards until it leaves the western Atlantic at the end of the week. Let’s take a dive into what we’re expecting over the next few days.
As we start a new week, Hurricane Erin remains a threat for anyone planning on a beach trip to the southeastern coast. While it is still very likely we don’t see any landfall on the United States coast, rip currents and waves will be dangerous as she swoops through the Atlantic. Here’s a look at Erin’s latest forecasted track:
We can thank higher pressure for keeping Erin at bay, as the storm will thread the needle between the eastern coast and Bermuda. While we could continue to see some wobbling to the west for the next couple of days, it is most likely that Erin takes a sharp turn to the northeast and leaves the Outer Banks with some heavier rain and strong winds at worst. Most of the tracks in the spaghetti plot (simply a plot of multiple model forecasted tracks) below show the storm taking this sharp turn, with only one or two outliers. Anyone planning on or already at the Outer Banks this week should reconsider, as rip currents will be dangerous across the eastern coast.
Erin will be staying strong through most of this week thanks to very warm sea surface temperatures. Much of the western Atlantic is above 80 degrees, and even some parts are at 90+ degrees. The temperatures needed for a hurricane to strengthen are 80+, making a great environment for Erin to intensify today before slowly waning in strength. Here’s a look at the current sea surface temperatures in the Atlantic:
While Erin will most likely not be a threat to our communities or anyone outside of the east coast beaches, we are still keeping an eye on the situation as it develops. Vacations are happening or being planned across the eastern coast and a Caribbean this time of year, which are heavily impacted by the presence of Erin this week. Make sure to check in on anyone you know who’s out on the beaches or will be later this week.
