While Erin is unlikely to make landfall along the East Coast before turning farther out to sea, authorities expect its large swells will cut off roads to villages and vacation homes on North Carolina’s Outer Banks and whip up life-threatening rip currents from Florida to New England.

Hurricane Erin continues to move parallel to the East Coast and it is expected to bring a prolonged period of destructive surf and dangerous rip currents.

North Carolina's coastal communities are already seeing storm-related flooding. Here's what meteorologists expect on Wednesday, Aug. 20.

Hurricane Erin threatened North Carolina's coast Wednesday with huge waves and flooding, as the strengthening Category 2 storm triggered mandatory evacuation orders despite its offshore path.Additional states of emergency have been declared in three North Carolina counties,

Hurricane Erin on Tuesday remained a major hurricane as headed north in the Atlantic prompting coastal advisories for Florida while the National Hurricane Center kept track of two tropical waves

Additional strengthening is expected as the storm is forecast to “remain a large and dangerous major hurricane through the middle of this week,” the National Hurricane Center said.