Though it will stay well offshore, dangerous storm surge will impact the North Carolina coast, triggering mandatory evacuations on Hatteras Island and Ocracoke Island.

Hurricane Erin has reintensified into a Category 4 storm on Aug. 18, according to the National Hurricane Center. See where Erin is headed.

Erin, which became a Category 5 hurricane Saturday morning in the eastern tropical Atlantic Ocean, but has now weakened to a Category 2.

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.

The Category 2 hurricane saw its winds weaken to as low as 100 mph on Aug. 19 as its north side battled winds, but the National Hurricane Center said early on Aug. 20 that the storm had reformed an inner eye wall, and a Hurricane Hunter mission this morning is expected to help the center determine if winds have increased in response.

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

The first area has been under the eyes of the National Hurricane Center for a few days as it emerged off Africa’s west coast.

Rough surf conditions and dangerous rip currents have forced many beaches to ban swimming and boogie boarding this week.

Hurricane Erin, which started as a tropical storm west of the Cabo Verde Islands, is making its way towards the east coast — although, its core is not forecast to go over land.