Meteorologists are closely tracking the projected path and forecast of Hurricane Erin, which is the first hurricane to develop over the Atlantic this year.

The storm has already prompted evacuation orders on North Carolina's Outer Banks and warnings about dangerous rip currents and swells along the East Coast.

Hurricane Erin has been downgraded to a Category 3 hurricane but is gaining in size and raising the risk of life-threatening surf later this week along the U.S.

As millions of people along the East Coast prepare for impacts from Hurricane Erin, coastal communities in New Jersey and Delaware are facing dangerous rip currents and high surf risks.

The storm is not currently forecast to hit land, but its strong winds are impacting nearby islands, prompting warnings of possible flooding and landslides.

Early Monday, the storm strengthened into a Category 4 hurricane, packing maximum sustained winds of 130 mph as it approached the southeastern Bahamas, the NHC reported.

Hurricane Erin is forcing evacuations on North Carolina’s Outer Banks as it churns in the Atlantic where high winds and heavy rain are pelting the Turks and Caicos Islands and parts of the Bahamas.

Erin is the fifth named storm of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season and the first hurricane, as well as the first major hurricane. The NHC has warned that the system, a Category 4 hurricane at the time of writing, could bring "life-threatening" surf and rip currents across the U.S.' Eastern Seaboard this week.

Hurricane Erin was a Category 4 storm with 130 mph winds on Monday night as it passed to the east of the Bahamas. The forecast track keeps the center of the storm well away from the U.S. East Coast this week, but tropical storm and storm surge watches have been issued for the North Carolina Outer Banks. National Hurricane Center

Hurricane Erin weakened to a category 3 hurricane during the early hours of Aug. 19 as it moves closer to the East Coast, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The beaches at Assateague Island and Ocean City, Maryland, are closed due to dangerous rip currents and high surf brought on by Hurricane Erin.