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RODANTHE, N.C. -- Hurricane Erin began strengthening again Wednesday while creeping closer to the mid-Atlantic coast and churning up menacing waves that have closed beaches from the Carolinas to New York City.
Forecasters expect the storm to peak going into Thursday and say it could re-intensify into a major hurricane.
While Erin is unlikely to make landfall along the East Coast before turning farther out to sea, its outer edge packing tropical force winds was approaching North Carolina's Outer Banks.
Water began pouring onto the main route connecting the barrier islands and around a handful of stilted homes precariously perched above the beach. By Wednesday evening, officials had closed Highway 12 on Hatteras Island as surge increased and waves were growing higher, while Ocracoke Island's connection to its ferry terminal was cut off.
Authorities expect the largest swells during high tide will cut off villages and vacation homes on the Outer Banks and whip up life-threatening rip currents from Florida to New England.
New York City closed its beaches to swimming on Wednesday and Thursday. Some beaches in New Jersey, Maryland and Delaware also will be temporarily off-limits. The storm is expected to bring widespread, moderate coastal flooding to low-lying areas of Long Island and parts of New York City.
Off Massachusetts, Nantucket Island could see waves of more than 10 feet later this week. But the biggest threat remained along the Outer Banks where longtime residents didn't seem too concerned.
"I remember taking canoes out of my front yard to get to school, so I don't think it's gonna be that bad," said Jacob Throne, who lives on Hatteras Island and works for surf shops.
Surfers flocked to the oceanfront in Virginia Beach, where Erin was supplying robust waves for the East Coast Surfing Championships and the kind of swells that many locals hadn't seen in awhile.