Erin has become the first hurricane of the Atlantic season with strong waves and rip currents possible along the East Coast of the United States as early as next week.

The Tropical Storm Watch is extended northward along the U.S. Atlantic coast, and now stretches from Duck to Chincoteague. A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect south of Duck, to Beaufort Inlet, including the Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds.

After rapidly intensifying into a Category 5 storm on Saturday, Hurricane Erin has since been downgraded to a Category 4 system with sustained winds of 130 mph. However, it is expected to intensify and grow in size over the next few days.

Although the storm is expected to stay offshore, it will produce dangerous surf conditions for much of the Atlantic Coast this week, forecasters say.

Hurricane Erin could 'at least double or triple in size' next week and the track has shifted south, but remains likely to turn away from the East Coast.

For now, most reliable computer models that meteorologists use show Erin curving away from the United States, spinning off the East Coast later in August.

Indeed, the East Coast is made up of a large number of states, and several of them require more wealth than New York to be among the top 20%. Because the East Coast is so diverse with so many ...