As Hurricane Erin moves closer to the East Coast, it's stirring up powerful and dangerous rip currents that will affect our beaches and shore points.While the storm isn't making landfall, it's generating strong swells that are forecasted to build waves between 8 and 12 feet.

As of Monday afternoon, Hurricane Erin was spinning several hundred miles south and east of Florida and forecasters are expecting the storm to grow bigger.

A secondary impact of Erin is the elimination of the super-comfortable dew point temperatures (humidity). So while Erin will not strike the Mid-Atlantic US, it sure as heck messed up the weather

Flooding, rip current and small craft weather alerts were issued by the NWS for South Jersey as result of Hurricane Erin.

Hurricane Erin continues its path through the Atlantic, prompting rip current warnings and surf advisories across much of the U.S. East

Rip currents are the third leading cause of deaths from hurricanes, and they can happen on a sunny day hundreds of miles from the storm.

Tragedy strikes the Jersey Shore as two drownings prompt urgent safety warnings from officials. With Hurricane Erin approaching, swimmers are reminded to stay close to lifeguards and heed caution.

“Certainly, Erin is not helping,” said Mike Lee, meteorologist with the National Weather Service Office in Mount Holly. But the surf on Monday primarily was being stirred by strong onshore winds, gusting up to 35 mph, behind a front that came through Sunday night and triggered surprising downpours in parts of the region.