Henri will bring powerful surf, dangerous rip currents through the weekend

Swell from Tropical Storm Henri continues to build, bringing powerful surf and dangerous rip currents to all area beaches this weekend, per a recent update from the National Weather Service Newport /Morehead City office.

Henri is expected to become a hurricane today, but will remain well offshore as it heads up the East Coast. Dangerous rip currents and hazardous swimming conditions are expected along all Outer Banks beaches, and the public is advised to stay out of the ocean.

Showers and thunderstorms could also bring heavy rainfall today, with the potential for localized flooding of low-lying and poor drainage areas.

As of 8:00 a.m. on Friday, the center of Tropical Storm Henri was located about 375 miles SSE of Cape Hatteras. Henri is moving toward the west-northwest near 9 mph, and a turn toward the northwest is forecast later today, followed by a turn toward the north tonight. Henri is forecast to accelerate toward the north through early next week, and approach the coast of southern New England on Sunday.

Maximum sustained winds are near 65 mph (100 km/h) with higher gusts. Strengthening is forecast during the next few days, and Henri is expected to become a hurricane by Saturday.

For more information, visit weather.gov/morehead city for your local forecast, weather.gov/mhx/tropical for the latest on Henri, and weather.gov/beach/mhx for the rip current forecast.