Hurricane Erin moves away from the East Coast, but it remains a coastal threat

Hurricane Erin moves through the Atlantic on Thursday. CIRA/RAMMB/NOAA

Erin is starting to turn away from the United States but don’t breathe a sigh of relief just yet: The massive hurricane is still churning up the Atlantic Ocean, keeping dangerous conditions in place for more than 1,000 miles of the East Coast.

Hurricane Erin has been a major disruption for coastal communities this week – especially North Carolina’s Outer Banks – even without making landfall. It’s stirred up life-threatening rip currents and rough surf for days and Erin could keep pushing the ocean onto coastlines through at least Friday.

The hurricane made its closest approach to US soil Wednesday night as it skirted just 200 miles from the Outer Banks. It brought serious coastal flooding that has eroded beaches an