Storm Erin became the first Atlantic hurricane of the 2025 season, but the name was previously used during one of the darkest days in American history.
Satellites of the previous Erin have resurfaced, showing it was poised off the coast of New York City on the same morning as the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
As terrorist attacks were unfolding in New York City, the Pentagon and near Shanksville, Pennsylvania on September 11, 2001, a high-pressure system dominated New York City’s skies, leaving them bright and clear while Hurricane Erin churned off the eastern coast.
Weather satellite images captured both the hurricane and the smoke rising from Ground Zero, where the Twin Towers once stood.
Prevailing north-to-south winds carried the smoke downward, linking the two events in a haunting snapshot.
Forecasters predict the current Hurricane Erin, which formed on Friday, will stay well offshore as it passes the Bahamas early next week, with South Florida expected to see no direct impact.
Erin, which has been gathering strength in the Atlantic all week, is projected to become a Category 4 storm by Monday at the latest as it approaches Bermuda.
The hurricane is expected to turn northward before approaching the US coastline.
Satellites of the previous Erin have resurfaced, showing it was poised off the coast of New York City on the same morning as the 9/11 terrorist attacks (left)
Hijacked United Airlines Flight 175 from Boston crashed into the south tower of the World Trade Center and explodes at 9:03am on September 11, 2001 in New York City
The current storm’s path offers a striking echo of history, recalling how the original Hurricane Erin lingered offshore during one of the nation’s darkest mornings.
A trough in the upper atmosphere steered the previous Hurricane Erin, which was advancing toward the East Coast, out to sea.
By 5:00am on September 11, the storm was located roughly 500 miles off the coast of New York City.
With the storm so far out at sea, it was the perfect, cloudless sky over the East Coast.
There were no weather delays at Boston, Newark and Dulles airports where the hijacked planes took off.
September 11 is discussed in Dr Joel N. Myers’ book ‘Invisible Iceberg: When Climate and Weather Changed History,’ where he writes: ‘There was a hurricane out in the Atlantic and a cold front had just gone through, it forced the hurricane to not come into New York, but out to sea… it makes you wonder if the attackers… studied the weather pattern.
‘The weather played a role… It was clear where all 4 planes took off… so there was nothing that would cause… hours of delays.’
Hurricane Erin never posed a landfall threat to the East Coast, as a cold front and stronger westerly winds aloft pushed the storm east and then northeast.
Hurricane Erin in 2001 was too far off the coast to trigger any weather delays at Boston, Newark and Dulles airports, where the hijacked planes took off.
Forecasters predict the current Hurricane Erin, which formed on Friday, will stay well offshore as it passes the Bahamas early next week, with South Florida expected to see no direct impact
Erin, which has been gathering strength in the Atlantic all week, is projected to become a Category 4 storm by Monday at the latest as it approaches Bermuda
However, Erin did generate large swells that eventually reached the coastline, which is what meteorologists have predicted with the current hurricane.
The current storm is set to reach a Category 4 by Monday at the latest as it approaches Bermuda, which is when the US East Coast should start feeling its effects.
Meteorologists said the first states Erin would likely hit are North Carolina and Virginia, where beachfront properties could be at risk.
Rough surf, rip currents, coastal flooding, and beach erosion are all expected to be issues for residents and vacationers in the area as soon as Monday or Tuesday.
As the storm moves over cooler ocean waters and encounters stronger wind shears, Erin is expected to drop to Category 2 strength as it travels along the New England coast next Thursday and Friday, with winds between 96 and 110 mph.
Cooler water provides less energy for hurricanes, and wind shear can disrupt their structure, reducing their overall strength.
However, states like Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts are still projected to see heavy rain and wind later next week.
‘North Carolina’s Outer Banks, Long Island, New York, and Cape Cod, Massachusetts face a higher risk of direct and potentially severe tropical storm or hurricane conditions than much of the southern Atlantic, mid-Atlantic and northern New England coasts,’ AccuWeather meteorologists said.
