(NEW YORK) – Due to strong surf backwash from Hurricane Ernesto, several beaches in New York City will be closed over the weekend.
The Category 1 storm made landfall in Bermuda early Saturday morning and slowly moved over the island throughout the day, bringing hurricane-force winds and heavy rain. Despite being hundreds of miles offshore, the system is generating rip currents along the U.S. East Coast, prompting the National Weather Service to issue high-swell and rip current warnings along much of the Atlantic coast.
According to the National Weather Service, waves in the Northeast could reach heights of 9 to 10 feet.
In New York City, beaches in Brooklyn, including Coney Island, Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach, as well as Rockaway and Riis beaches in Queens, will be closed Saturday and Sunday, NYC Parks and the National Park Service announced earlier this weekend. Swimming and wading are not permitted during the closure due to potentially life-threatening currents.
“Our primary focus is the safety of New Yorkers. As the impacts of Tropical Storm Ernesto approach New York City, we are closing our ocean-facing beaches in Queens and Brooklyn this weekend to protect New Yorkers from dangerous surf rip currents,” New York Mayor Eric Adams said in a statement Friday.
A video from New York’s ABC station WABC showed workers on Coney Island preparing the beach for the onslaught of strong waves by reinforcing sand mounds to protect them from erosion.
On Long Island, seawalls have been built to protect the delicate shoreline, which has suffered from beach erosion in recent years, WABC reported. One of the biggest concerns there is ocean water penetrating from the beach and flowing into low-lying areas, Jeffrey Mason, director of Jones Beach State Park, told WABC.
Long Island beaches were not closed to swimming, but authorities advised beachgoers to be cautious.
Ernesto continues to move north and northeast and is expected to leave the coast of Newfoundland, Canada, as a weakening hurricane on Monday evening.
More storms are expected in the coming weeks, as hurricane season typically peaks in September, according to the National Hurricane Center.
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