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

With the impact Hurricane Erin has on the Jersey Shore to worsen Thursday, many surfers seized the waves as an opportunity.

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.

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

People trying to enjoy the last hurrahs of summer along the coast are being met on Wednesday with rip-current warnings, closed beaches and treacherous waves as Erin inches closer, once again on the cusp of becoming a major hurricane as it treks north after lashing Bermuda.