Cat. 3 Hurricane Larry brings increasing rip current risk to North Carolina coast starting Labor Day

By WRAL Severe Weather Center

The rip current risk off the North Carolina coast could be a hazard starting over the holiday weekend, when Hurricane Larry is expected to strengthen into a Category 4.

For Labor Day, there will be a moderate rip current risk along most of the North Carolina coast. The National Weather Service reported 16 rip current rescues at New Hanover beaches on Sunday, which also had a moderate rip current risk.

As of Sunday night, Larry was a major Category 3 hurricane with 125 mile per hour winds. The system, which is 1,350 miles southeast of Bermuda, is currently moving northwest.

Steering currents will help keep Larry off the United States coast, but North Carolina’s coast could experience some rip currents or large ocean swells.

The closet that Larry will get to the North Carolina coast is 846.1 miles on Thursday afternoon, according to WRAL meteorologist Aimee Wilmoth.

Despite being almost 1,000 miles away, the system will come close enough to the coast that it will cause dangerous rip currents and rough surf.

By Thursday morning, the North Carolina coast will start to see the potential for some red flags, meaning there is a high rip current risk. The potential will then increase heading into Friday, according to Wilmoth.

“If you’re planning a beach trip for the end of the week, be very careful. I wouldn’t be surprised if we have a high rip current risk as Larry gets close. It doesn’t hit us but it gets close enough to have a little bit of impact,” said Wilmoth.

Hurricane Larry is the fifth hurricane of the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season.