Hurricane Erin pounds North Carolina coast as storm starts to moves away: Live

Forecasters have warned that even though Hurricane Erin is set to move out into the open Atlantic, “dangerous conditions” may still prove hazardous for beach-goers over the weekend.

“Storm surge may impact beaches from the Delmarva coastline to southern New Jersey through late Thursday night,” according to Alex DaSilva, AccuWeather Lead Hurricane Expert.

“Several feet of water rise from Hurricane Erin may extend as far north as northern New Jersey and coastal areas near New York City.”

DaSilva added: “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.

“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.”

Here’s the latest update from the National Hurricane Center on Erin’s progress.

Spectacular view of the Atlantic storm from above here courtesy of the ISS.

Americans can help with disaster recovery decisions by joining the space agency’s initiative to document damage at ground level, reports Oliver O’Connell.

Here’s a closer look at the storm’s likely path with Graig Graziosi.

Here’s the view from the shoreline as the Tar Heel State braced for its first major storm of the season.

The Emerald Isle Sea Turtle Patrol has been forced to come to the rescue of nesting sea turtles in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, digging trenches to prevent them filling with seawater that is being driven towards shore by Hurricane Erin.

Dale Baquer, president of the patrol group, said at least three nests have nevertheless been washed away while eight of the 10 remaining are damaged significantly, according to WTOC.

“We always say in the turtle business, ‘Never say never,’ because we’ve seen nests sit underwater, and then we get surprised,” Baquer said.

“But sitting underwater is detrimental to their survival.”

Here are the latest updates from the National Hurricane Center:

More than a dozen people had to be rescued from rip currents along North Carolina’s Wrightsville Beach on Tuesday, according to CNN, following on from the rescue of 60 people on the same beach on Monday, according to Sam Proffitt, the town’s ocean rescue director.

“Some of these rips are pulling six to eight people out at a time,” Proffitt told the network, describing conditions in the water as “very strong” and “dangerous.”

Proffitt added that the sheer volume of water moving and funneling out is so intense, it “really doesn’t matter how good of a swimmer you are,” explaining that the beachgoers who have had to be saved so far had assumed it was safe to do so and just another hot and sunny day.

The beach has since issued a no-swim advisory lasting until at least Friday.

Just north of Wrightsville, a further 15 people were rescued in Surf City on Monday, according to officials there.