Residents of New Orleans are marking the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's devastating landfall on the Gulf Coast. Events from solemn memorial services to uplifting musical performances are being held in the city Friday to honor the dead, the displaced and the determined survivors who helped rebuild. A wreath-laying ceremony kicked off the day at New Orleans' memorial for dozens of unidentified storm victims. Hundreds observed a minute of silence in the Lower Ninth Ward, a majority Black neighborhood where the federal levee system was breached on Aug. 29, 2005. Residents and dignitaries also marked Katrina's anniversary in Mississippi, where hundreds more perished in the storm.

Hurricane Erin never made landfall, but it left behind rough ocean conditions along the U.S. East Coast. At least two people have died, a 17-year-old boy in New Hampshire and a 59-year-old man in New York, after they went swimming in heavy current. A search continued Monday for a man who was missing after his boat capsized off of Salisbury Beach in Massachusetts on Saturday. The teen was pulled away by a strong ocean current off of Hampton Beach. The man was swimming at Sailors Haven in the Fire Island National Seashore. Forecasters say there are no coastal watches or warnings for newly formed Tropical Storm Juliette in the Pacific Ocean and Tropical Storm Fernand in the Atlantic.

Strong winds and waves from Hurricane Erin have battered Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard as dangerous rip currents continue to threaten from the Carolinas to New England. But the storm is heading farther out to sea and forecasters say the unusually large hurricane will slowly weaken into the weekend. It has already dropped to Category 1 status. The menacing waves closed beaches from the Carolinas to New York City on Thursday. On North Carolina's Outer Banks, waves breached dunes in the town of Kill Devil Hills, and water and sand pooled on Highway 12. But the low-lying islands appear to have dodged widespread destruction.

Hurricane Erin is strengthening again and forecasters say it could re-intensify into a major hurricane. The storm is creeping toward the mid-Atlantic coast and churning up menacing waves that have closed beaches from the Carolinas to New York City. It's expected to peak over the next 48 hours. Erin is unlikely to make landfall along the East Coast before turning farther out to sea. But authorities are warning that its large swells will cut off roads on North Carolina's Outer Banks and whip up life-threatening rip currents from Florida to New England. The National Hurricane Center is watching two more tropical waves to the east of Erin.

Hurricane Erin is churning slowly toward the eastern U.S. coast and stirring up waves that already have forced dozens of beach rescues several days before the biggest storm surges are expected. Forecasters remain confident the center of the monster storm will remain far offshore. But the outer edges are likely to bring damaging tropical-force winds, large swells and life-threatening rip currents. Warnings about rip currents have been posted from Florida to the New England coast. Authorities are prohibiting people from swimming in beaches from New York City, Long Island and down into New Jersey. The biggest swells along the East Coast are expected to develop Wednesday and last into Thursday.

Hurricane Erin is pelting parts of the Caribbean and is forecast to create dangerous surf and rip currents along the U.S. East Coast this week. Forecasters are confident that Erin will turn northeast and away from the eastern U.S. But the National Hurricane Center in Miami says Erin is still expected to churn up dangerous waves and rip currents and could bring tropical force winds to North Carolina's Outer Banks. Evacuations are being ordered on a few islands along the Outer Banks even though the storm is unlikely to make direct landfall. The storm intensified again to a Category 4 storm with 140 mph winds Monday.

Intense rainstorms are becoming more frequent in most of the U.S. — though experts say where they occur and whether they cause catastrophic flooding is largely a matter of chance. More than 100 people died in Texas Hill Country over the weekend after 12 inches of rain fell in just hours. Last year, Hurricane Helene dumped more than 30 inches of rain on western North Carolina, where flooding killed 108. Experts say human-caused climate change is setting the stage because a hotter atmosphere holds more water. But it's impossible to predict where flooding will occur in any given year.