Cape Hatteras, NC — Hurricane Erin continued its northward churn through the Atlantic on Tuesday, threatening dangerous surf and coastal flooding from the Bahamas to the U.S. East Coast, as tropical storm warnings and storm surge alerts were issued for parts of North Carolina’s Outer Banks ahead of the storm’s closest approach late Wednesday.

Hurricane Erin is bringing life-threatening rip and surf currents to New York and New Jersey despite being hundreds of miles away, according to forecasters. The storm is 800

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 continues to churn in the Atlantic waters hundreds of miles off the U.S., prompting officials to close beaches along the East Coast from the mid-Atlantic to the Northeast.

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.

Hurricane Erin made its closest approach to the U.S. coastline on Wednesday and is expected to quickly become post-tropical over the northern Atlantic. Even though the cyclone stayed offshore the threat for significant waves and rip currents is expected to remain for the rest of the week for the Eastern Seaboard.

Hurricane Erin remains a powerful storm as it churns in the Atlantic on Tuesday morning with the system expected to cause dangerous conditions at East Coast beaches for days. As of Tuesday morning, Erin was located about 720 miles southeast of Cape Hatteras,