Hurricane Erin To Wreak Dangerous Waves, Rip Currents Along MA Coastline: See Latest Forecast

MASSACHUSETTS — Hurricane Erin's impact will be strongly felt along the Massachusetts coastline this week even as the storm is expected to pass hundreds of miles out to sea.

The National Weather Service said that Hurricane Erin — which was a Category 4 storm as it passed through the Bahamas on Monday — will result in high surf and dangerous rip currents to ocean-exposed beaches from Tuesday through Friday.

The NWS said those conditions will be particularly strong at south-facing beaches.

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The NWS said that those who find themselves caught in a rip current should try to relax and not fight the current, as it will not pull a swimmer underwater but will cause swimmers to tire and/or grow distressed if they try to swim against it.

Swimmers are advised to swim along the current until they are out of it, and to yell and wave their arms to gain attention if they cannot escape the current.

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The Steamship Authority said Oak Bluffs ferry service may be diverted to Vineyard Haven starting Wednesday night through Friday morning on the Martha's Vineyard-Woods Hole route. High-speed ferry service will possibly be disrupted on Thursday on the Hyannis-Nantucket route.

Salem Ferry was suspended on Monday due to ocean conditions, with officials saying that it was expected to resume on Tuesday.

The dangerous ocean conditions will occur despite what is shaping up to be a beautiful week of weather overall, with cooler temperatures and very low humidity.

Monday and Tuesday will both be sunny and dry with a high near 72 degrees in Greater Boston — 20 degrees cooler than Sunday's soupy high temperature of 92 in Boston.

The NWS said the best chance of any rain will be late on Wednesday with a 20 percent chance of showers.

Wednesday will be partly cloudy with a high of 75. Thursday will begin a warming trend toward more seasonable temperatures with a high of 76 under sunny skies, followed by a high of 78 on Friday and a high of 83 on Saturday.

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(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)