Hurricane Erin is forcing evacuations on North Carolina’s Outer Banks as it churns in the Atlantic where high winds and heavy rain are pelting the Turks and Caicos Islands and parts of the Bahamas.

Hurricane Erin brings swells to Florida. It's ideal for surfing but dangerous for beachgoers who see blue skies, but don't realize the dangers.

Hurricane Erin is over 500 miles away from South Florida as of Wednesday afternoon, but the extreme size of the storm is still impacting the wind direction locally, and spreading wildfire smoke across the area.

A weakening Hurricane Erin is moving closer towards Bermuda as weather officials are keeping an eye on the two weather patterns that could  affect the region over the next seven days. The Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC) said that Erin is an estimated 555 miles west south west of Bermuda with maximum sustained winds of 100 miles per hour (mph).

Hurricane Erin underwent rapid intensification to become a Category 5 storm in just hours. It has since weakened to a Category 4 status.

Forecasters are confident it will curl north and away from the eastern U.S., but tropical storm and surge watches were issued for much of North Carolina’s Outer Banks.

While the category 4 storm is not expected to make landfall on the U.S. east coast, it will have an impact nonetheless. Dangerous high surf and rip currents are expected from Florida to New England throughout the week.

The U.S. Air Force 403rd Wing released footage showing one of its planes entering the eye of Hurricane Erin. By early Tuesday, Erin had lost some strength from previous days and had maximum sustained winds of 115 mph (185 kph),

Hurricane Erin, the first Atlantic hurricane of the year, is expected to bring life-threatening surf and rip currents to the U.S. eastern coastline, with the Outer Banks region of North Carolina

Erin, the first Atlantic hurricane of 2025, reached Category 5 status before weakening, with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph.

Hurricane Erin forges ahead on a western track at 16 mph, but Miami's NHC expects the hurricane will soon round a corner