The latest hurricane report from the US National Hurricane Center on the evening of August 21 said that the outer reaches of Erin are strong and the wide area of impact is sweeping across the US East Coast hundreds of kilometers, suggesting that such a major storm without having to make landfall can still have a strong impact.
Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from North Carolina's Outer Banks due to the possibility of a large wave of up to 1.2 m. Swimming on the beaches is still prohibited as large waves and deadly offshore water are hitting the shore.
Erin remains a Category 2 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 170 km/h.
US hurricane forecasters said that on the morning of August 21, Erin made the closest approach to the North Carolina coast and will continue to move away from the shore.
Although the center of Hurricane Erin and the maximum sustained winds of the storm are about 320 km east-southeast of Hatteras, North Carolina, tropical storm-force winds have extended up to 500 km, affecting parts of the North Carolina and Virginia coasts.
According to the US National Hurricane Center, a weather station in Nags Head, North Carolina, measured sustained winds of 65 km/h and gusts of 74 km/h on the morning of August 21.
The strongest impact of Hurricane Erin is concentrated in the central Outer Banks area. Here, waves up to 6m high, combined with rough seas from 0.6-1.2m, continued to sink some wavy islands.
As a result of the impact of Hurricane Erin, about 85,000 people have complied with evacuation orders in dare County. North Carolina Governor Josh Stein has declared a state of emergency since August 20 for areas affected by Hurricane Erin.
The hurricane bulletin notes that although Erin continues to be far from the shore and heads towards the entire northern Atlantic, the storm's path continues to cause dangerous conditions, strong winds until August 22.
The areas affected by the storm include Virginia's Tidewater area, Delmarva Peninsula, Jersey Beach, Long Island Island, New England and Canada's Atlantic coast.
It is forecast that by the end of August 22, Hurricane Erin will move rapidly to the entire northern Atlantic Ocean. Erin is forecast to become a tropical depression on August 23.
Erin's strength has been declining since experiencing one of the rapid intensifications to a Category 5 hurricane last weekend.
As Erin is active, the US National Hurricane Center is also monitoring a low pressure area that could strengthen into a tropical depression in the Atlantic. "One low pressure has a 70% chance and the other low pressure has a 40% chance of strengthening over the next 7 days," the bulletin stated.
