How Hurricane Erin Sent Waves to 3 Continents

Originally posted on SURFER | By August Howell | Last updated Aug 29, 2025 4:50 PM ET

It’s fitting that the first hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic season went full circle. It began as a tropical storm off the coast of West Africa, but rapidly intensified to a Category 5 hurricane and sustained winds of 160 miles per hour. Thus, Hurricane Erin was born. Three weeks later, Erin is just settling down in North Africa.

In between, it sent waves around thousands of miles of coastlines on three continents. From New York to Morocco, from Puerto Rico to Ireland, from Canada to Iceland. Folks scores. In the video below, Surfline compiled a highlight reel of the best waves ridden over the past few weeks paired with analysis from the team on the hurricane's track.

“If we had to draw up the perfect recurving storm,” said Surfline’s Florida-based principal forecaster, Charlie Hutcherson, “Erin just might be it.”

Just like long-period low-pressure systems that generate long-period swell, hurricanes are dynamic. The compact and shifting nature of Erin kept forecasters and surfers busy. Heads were on a swivel, and so were the plans.

“You might not be surfing where you thought you were going to surf,” said New Englander pro Robbie Goodwin, who picked out massive gems in unruly seas (See the 8:06 mark). "So many times I’ve been somewhere and we’ve decided last-minute to completely change gears. Now all of a sudden, you don’t need a 3/2, you need a 5 mil. You don’t need a 5’11”, you need a 7’0”.”

For those who went to the right places at the right time, Erin provided. "I can't remember a wind window and a swell window that ran for that long," 2001 world champion and Florida lord CJ Hobgood said after 10 days of waves.

In its later act, Erin veered into the Northeast Atlantic to deliver massive barrels to Ireland (we see you, Gearoid, Mcdaid) and even provided sets to Mundaka and Nazaré. If you got on this swell train, good on you. Who knows if we'll see the likes of Erin again.

This article first appeared on SURFER and was syndicated with permission.

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