Even though Erin’s wind field is only expected to graze the Outer Banks, large, breaking waves could overwash sand dunes and render Highway 12 impassible on parts of Ocracoke and Hatteras islands for days. Evacuation orders have been posted in the Outer Banks of North Carolina ahead of potential flooding. The order went into effect for visitors beginning 8 p.m. Sunday and will take effect for residents starting at 6 a.m. Tuesday….
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Erin now
On Monday morning, Erin had restrengthened into a low-end Category 4 major hurricane. It was located about 105 miles north-northeast of Grand Turk Island and was moving northwest at 13 mph.
Hurricane-force wind extended outward up to 80 miles from the center, meaning the worst of the winds were missing Turks and Caicos — but the islands are still facing tropical storm conditions.
On Saturday, Erin spent 8 hours 40 minutes as a Category 5 hurricane with 160 mph maximum eyewall winds as it passed north of Puerto Rico. That made it the Atlantic’s 11th Category 5 in a decade. It even had an EEL, or “enveloped eyewall lightning” signature, for a time — meaning its eye was entirely surrounded by lightning strikes. That’s a sign of an extremely powerful, and often intensifying, storm….
image…WSOC-TV