15-Foot Waves, Dangerous Surf From Hurricane Erin To Hit FL Coast

While Hurricane Erin will stay offshore of the U.S. as it heads north in the Atlantic, it’s still expected to bring life-threatening surf, dangerous rip currents and coastal flooding to communities in Florida and other East Coast states, forecasters said.

Though the system has wavered in strength as it moved east of the Bahamas, Erin is a Category 2 storm with maximum sustained winds of 100 mph on Wednesday morning, the National Hurricane Center said.

The storm’s center was about 440 miles east of Daytona Beach Wednesday around 8 a.m., according to TC Palm.

The system is moving north-northwest at 13 mph, the NHC said. By late Wednesday or early Thursday, Erin will start to make the turn north-northeast as it moves out to sea, forecasters said.

Some communities all the way from Florida’s East Coast north to coastal New England could experience waves ranging from 10 to 15 feet, Gulf Coast News Now said.

The large swells caused by Erin will peak Wednesday in Florida, bringing 6 to 10 foot waves, a high risk for deadly rip currents and hazardous boating conditions to the state’s East Coast, the National Weather Service in Melbourne posted to X.

Wave heights near the center of the storm could build to more than 40 feet, but will remain offshore, reports said.

🌀 5 am update - Hurricane Erin was 498 mi ESE of Mayport, FL
🌊Worsening Marine & Surf conditions today
⚠️Deadly rip currents & high surf today
⚠️Minor tidal flooding this evening at coast & ICWW
🚫Stay out of the ocean#jaxwx #flwx #gawx https://t.co/gH2AmOYEsZ pic.twitter.com/90xHwnxR54
— NWS Jacksonville (@NWSJacksonville) August 20, 2025

As the storm slowly moves away from the U.S., at its closest it will track about 200 miles east of North Carolina’s Outer Banks on Thursday, AccuWeather meteorologists said.

Tropical storm conditions are expected in the region starting later Wednesday, the NHC said. In addition to the large waves, the area will also see storm surge, damaging winds and heavy rain from some of Erin’s outer bands.

The Outer Banks and Massachusetts’ Cape Cod will see the worst of the waves, which could range from 15 to 20 feet, according to AccuWeather.

See Also:

• Hurricane Erin To Bring 10-Foot Waves, Dangerous Conditions To FL
• As Many As 5 Tropical Storms Forecast In August, Update Says
• Updated Atlantic Hurricane Season Forecast Released By CSU Experts

The rip current risk will remain very high along 2,000 miles of the entire East Coast, from Florida up to New England, through late week, experts said.

Alex DaSilva, AccuWeather lead hurricane expert, warned of “hazardous beach conditions” along the entire coast.

“Looks can be deceiving. The rip currents below the surface can be incredibly powerful and difficult to escape,” he said. “More than 60 people have lost their lives to rip currents, rough surf, and other beach hazards across the U.S. this year.”

Experts are also watching two other areas in the Atlantic for possible tropical development.

A tropical wave is near the Leeward Islands and producing a broad area of disorganized showers and thunderstorms over the central tropical Atlantic, the NHC said.

It has a 60 percent chance of becoming a tropical depression sometime over the next week — likely by the weekend — as it moves near or north of the northern Leeward Islands, forecasters said.

A second wave, located southwest of the Cabo Verde Islands, has a 40 percent chance of developing into a tropical depression over the next two days, NHC said.

It’s currently producing a concentrated area of showers and thunderstorms. A short-lived tropical depression could form as it moves west, but it will encounter environmental conditions that are unfavorable for further development, according to the NHC.

Denis Phillips, chief meteorologist for Tampa Bay 28, doesn’t expect either to affect the U.S.

The first wave “looks like it’s going to curve WELL before the U.S.,” he wrote in a Facebook post. “In fact, it will probably curve even before where Erin did. So, as of now, no threat.”

The second area to watch “is definitely in a more troublesome spot,” Phillips wrote. “However, there is a TON of dry air and shear in its way. The way I see it, it’s just not going to get its act together. IF it were able to hang together and can make it in one piece all the way across the ocean, maybe.”

He added, “But all in all, despite two blobs to track, neither appear to be a threat at this time.”