By AARON PARSEGHIAN

Big waves and whipping winds are bringing dangerous beach conditions to the Massachusetts coast, prompting closures and warnings as Hurricane Erin churned hundreds of miles offshore.

Watching Hurricane Erin's waves

At Scituate's historic lighthouse, waves swelled higher, drawing onlookers while town officials urged people to admire the ocean from a safe distance. A hazardous surf warning remains in effect for all coastal areas in the town, with rip current risks expected to grow as the storm moves northeast.

"Seeing the waves as big as they are I think people would be like, whoa, you should stay away," said Ryan Frankel, a Scuitate native who was photographing the beach. "But I think, honestly, there's something about them that just brings character and brings life."

Others echoed the caution.

"It's the rip tide I worry about, not the size of the waves right now for this storm," said longtime visitor Gail Zwerling. She and her husband, Hayward, chose to stay out of the water but took in the views.

"The storm is, I don't know, 1,000 miles away. And this is what we're feeling here. This is beautiful. The power of nature is spectacular," Hayward Zwerling said.

Waves draw surfers to beach

Still, the big swells proved too tempting for surfers along south-facing shores.

"It's getting pretty big, it's nice long, period swell coming in from Hurricane Erin," said surfer Wyn Davenport who traveled to Wesport to surf and described the conditions as challenging. "You've gotta have some knowledge about how the currents work. There's some pretty heavy rip currents out there right now. The waves themselves can be pretty dangerous."

Town officials in Scituate urged residents and visitors to remain out of the water as the hazardous surf warning continues through Saturday.