Hurricane Erin impacting the Jersey Shore with winds, clouds and strong rip currents.

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.

“Certainly, Erin is not helping,” said Mike Lee, meteorologist with the National Weather Service Office in Mount Holly. But the surf on Monday primarily was being stirred by strong onshore winds, gusting up to 35 mph, behind a front that came through Sunday night and triggered surprising downpours in parts of the region.

Hurricane Erin lashes Bahamas and Turks and Caicos with winds, rain, and flooding as forecasters track a new Atlantic tropical threat.

Hurricane Erin, now a powerful Category 4 storm churning in the Caribbean, is not forecast to hit land, but it will impact North Carolina and bring dangerous waves and rip currents to the U.S. East Coast.

Forecasts nudge Erin's likely path to the west, increasing the risks at U.S. beaches. Tropical storm conditions are expected in North Carolina's Outer Banks starting late Wednesday.