Large waves crash as seen from the beach in Ocean City, Maryland, as Hurricane Erin crept along the East Coast of the United States on Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025.

As Hurricane Erin moves away from the East Coast on Aug. 22, it leaves behind flooded-out and sand-covered roads, eroded beaches and dangerous waters for beachgoers.

Some of the hardest hit areas were along the Outer Banks barrier islands of North Carolina, where waves crashed into beachfront homes and made a major road impassable. A state of emergency was also declared in New Jersey on Aug. 21 in preparation for flood impacts and high winds as Erin made its up the coast out at sea.

Erin made a turn to the northeast and was finally moving away from the United States as a weakened Category 1 hurricane, according to the National Hurricane Center. The storm passed as close as about 200 miles from the North Carolina coast.

Though Erin has weakened, dangerous surf conditions and rip currents remain a threat at beaches along much of the East Coast, forecasters said.

“It may seem like a nice beach day, with sunshine and blue skies as the storm goes out to sea, but powerful rip currents will be lurking in the water through Saturday," AccuWeather Lead Hurricane Expert Alex DaSilva said.

Hurricane Erin produces coastal flooding in the East

On the Outer Banks, at a gauge on the beach at Duck, North Carolina, the National Weather Service said the high water level at high tide on Aug. 21 reached 6.97 inches. The water level was about 9 inches below the previous record, set in 2003 during Hurricane Isabel.

Roads in the Outer Banks between Oregon Inlet and Ocracoke are expected to remain impassable, especially during morning and evening times of high tide, the weather service in Newport and Morehead City, North Carolina, said on Aug. 22. Damaged dune structures and large swells will contribute to continued flooding, the weather service said.

Highway 12, a crucial artery in the Outer Banks, has already experienced additional dune breaches during high tide the morning of Aug. 22, the North Carolina Department of Transportation said. Portions of the highway remain closed, but there is so far no indication of pavement damage, the department said.

In New Jersey, coastal flooding closed U.S. 40 in both directions in Pleasantville, near Atlantic City, the weather service said on Aug. 21. Flooding also closed lanes of a road in North Wildwood, New Jersey. And in Ocean City, flooding began in coastal areas before high tide arrived, flooding 8th and 9th streets near the boardwalk.

In Delaware, the water washed over the tops of dunes and caused some beach erosion on the north side of Indian River Inlet in Sussex, according to the weather service.

Rip currents remain a dangerous threat at East Coast beaches

The rip current risk remains high along much of the East Coast, and the hurricane center said swimming is likely to continue to be dangerous for the next couple days.

“Even as Erin pushes out into the open Atlantic, dangerous conditions are expected at many beaches heading into the weekend. Do not let your guard down if you’re spending time at the beach on Friday or Saturday,” DaSilva said.

Rip currents accounted for about 10 to 15% of all fatalities from tropical storms or hurricanes in the U.S. in the last decade, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The fast-moving channels of water can drag swimmers away from shore and tire them out.

Beaches in several East Coast states including North Carolina, Maryland, New Jersey, and others remained closed to swimmers on Aug. 22.

More in store in the tropics

Erin's departure may not mean a break in tropical impacts to the U.S. for very long. Hurricane forecasters are eyeing three developing systems in the Atlantic, including a developing tropical wave that could become the next named storm of the 2025 Atlantic season, Fernand.

That system has an 80% chance of cyclone formation within a week and a 70% chance of formation in the next 48 hours, the hurricane center said. It's currently located a couple hundred miles away from the northern Leeward Islands. It's likely to form into a tropical depression over the weekend, and if the depression's winds reach 39 mph, it would be the sixth named storm of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season.

It's too soon to determine if it'll impact the U.S. Forecasters said it could turn northwestward and then northward.

Contributing: Doyle Rice, Dinah Voyles Pulver, Thao Nguyen and Jorge L. Ortiz

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Weakened Hurricane Erin heads away from US, leaving flooding along East Coast

Reporting by Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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