With an elevated rip current risk expected throughout the week, the Wildwood Beach Patrol has issued a no-swimming order until further notice.
Simply put, if you rented a place down the Shore this week, your timing couldn't have been worse.
Mike Morrell, assistant chief of the Brigantine Beach Patrol, says this is just the beginning.
While Hurricane Erin is not expected to make landfall along the East Coast, rough surf and dangerous rip currents will persist.
"This week is going to be a bad week," Morrell said. "The whole week, probably until Friday. We know people spend a lot of money to come down here, but we're more concerned about their safety than anything else."
Just past noon on Monday, as Morrell was giving Action News a tour of conditions along Brigantine's beaches, word came in that Wildwood officials were closing their beaches.
Morrell noted that once one beach closes, others along the coast typically follow suit.
At the water's edge, three young people tried to make the best of a bad situation.
"There are little bubbles, I guess, from the wind," said Jemma Saffioti of Pitman, N.J. "We were stepping on them and jumping on them like a game. 'Just please don't go further than ankle deep, please.' That's what I was yelling at them for."
ABC News video from Puerto Rico shows how bad conditions could have been if Hurricane Erin had veered closer to the East Coast. But officials warn that beachgoers should still stay out of the water.
"You shouldn't go in the water today, or the next couple of days until the storm is over," Morrell said. "If you do go in, keep it ankle deep. Anything further than that, a rip current can take you right out-even at knee-deep."
The worst conditions are expected Wednesday and Thursday, with winds reaching 30 to 40 mph and waves as high as 8 to 10 feet.