'Dangerous Surf, Rip Currents' Expected Across LI Due To Hurricane Erin's Wrath

LONG ISLAND, NY — As Hurricane Erin, the first hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic season, exploded into a Category 5 event Saturday with winds of more than 150 miles per hour, experts are forecasting fierce surf and life-threatening rip currents in the coming days across Long Island.

Jay Engle, meteorologist with the National Weather Service Office in Upton, told Patch that although the storm itself has weakened, "dangerous surf and rip currents" for Long Island's Atlantic Ocean-facing beaches, from the South Shore to the East End, will become a steadily increasing threat from Tuesday night to Thursday night. On Thursday night, he said, those impacts should start to decrease into the weekend as Erin starts to lift out of the area to the northeast.

Dune erosion and localized beach flooding are expected, beginning Tuesday evening and becoming more widespread with each successive high tide cycle until Thursday evening, Engle said.

Dune erosion is also likely Thursday evening into Friday, with breaking surf reaching 10 to 15 feet — and the strongest surf found from Moriches and heading east until Friday morning, the time when Erin has reached its closest point to Long Island in the east and northeast, Engle said.

Long Island is expected to see a slight chance of showers late Wednesday night; temperatures this week are expected to be in the mid-70s Tuesday, with highs in the upper 70s and low 80s as the week continues.

Currently, tropical storm conditions are expected in the Turks and Caicos Islands and in the Southeast Bahamas Monday, with tropical storm conditions possible in portions of the Central Bahamas late Monday through Tuesday, according to the National Hurricane Center.

(Courtesy National Hurricane Center.)