Many coastal states — including Maine — can expect to feel Hurricane Erin’s presence this week, even though the storm’s projected path shows it failing to make direct landfall in the U.S.

Maine is already seeing significant riptides, but they are expected to build as the hurricane gets closer and the surf rises, said Michael Clair, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Gray.

“We’re expecting rip currents to pick up here as the surf builds over the next couple of days,” Clair said Wednesday. “The surf is going to continue to build right into Friday and then slowly come down over the weekend.”

The weather service has issued alerts for high rip current risk Thursday and a high surf advisory from 6 a.m. Friday to 8 p.m. Saturday.

Beachgoers along Maine’s coast often stake out on large rocks, enjoying the sights and sounds of the ocean — but doing so during a high surf advisory can be deceivingly dangerous, Clair said. That’s because the large waves will come in sets, and not every set is the same size.

“It might seem calm for a while, but then you get a big set of waves,” Clair said. “That’s one of the most dangerous things we see around here with these types of storms: People get too close, standing on the rocks, and then a big set comes in and they get swept into the ocean.”

Lifeguards at Scarborough Beach State Park made eight rescues in one day last week, beach director Greg Wilfert said, some of them likely related to big rip currents that day. The beach saw 4- to 7-foot waves Wednesday, he said, and he expects bigger waves — and more rip currents — in the coming days.

There were also multiple rescues related to rip currents in Ogunquit last week, Maine Public reported.

In North Carolina, dozens of swimmers were rescued from rip currents this week near Wilmington, the Associated Press reported. About 100 people are killed by rip currents annually, according to data from the U.S. Lifesaving Association.

Swimmers caught in a rip current are advised to stay calm and swim parallel to the shore to get out of the rip current, rather than trying to swim toward land against the current.