Hurricane Erin is marching north and is set to bring life-threatening rip currents, destructive waves, coastal flooding and possibly beach erosion to much of the East Coast. The conditions will last through Thursday before improving later on Friday and into Saturday.

People in the Outer Banks should shelter in place, authorities said. Meanwhile, life-threatening rip currents are likely at beaches along the East Coast, according to forecasters.

Hurricane Erin's furthest bands began brushing the outer banks of North Carolina's coast Wednesday, where the Category 2 storm triggered mandatory evacuation orders, and officials warned summer beachgoers along the US East Coast of life-threatening surf and rip currents in coming days.

Hurricane Erin is causing dangerous swimming conditions along the East Coast even as the strength of the storm weakened.

Residents across North Carolina’s Outer Banks and coast braced for flooding from storm surge and powerful winds Wednesday as Hurricane Erin churned hundreds of miles away in the Atlantic Ocean.

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

Hurricane Erin, now a Category 2 storm, poses a significant threat to the US East Coast with life-threatening surf, currents, and storm surge warnings. Evacuations are underway in North Carolina's Outer Banks as officials brace for hazardous conditions.

The outer bands of Hurricane Erin are brushing North Carolina's Outer Banks, as beachgoers along most U.S. East Coast shores are being warned against swimming due to the risk of life-threatening surf and rip currents, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Wednesday night.

Two homes on North Carolina's Outer Banks sit precariously in high waves generated by Hurricane Erin with their days seemingly numbered.

As of 7 a.m. CDT Wednesday, the center of Category 2 Hurricane Erin was located about 400 miles south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, N.C., or 560 miles west-southwest of Bermuda, and was tracking to the north-northwest at 13 mph. Erin’s sustained winds were 100 mph, making it a Category 2 storm.

Hurricane Erin was a Category 4 storm again Monday morning and is expected to grow even larger and stronger, according to the latest advisory from the National Hurricane Center. Although Erin is forecast to move north between the U.S. and Bermuda, life-threatening surf and rip currents are likely across the Atlantic coast from Florida to Canada.