The National Hurricane Center is urging beachgoers to stay out of the water. Parts of North Carolina's Outer Banks are under mandatory evacuation orders.

Hurricane Erin was taking aim at the U.S. East Coast on Wednesday morning, according to forecasters who are warning Americans of life-threatening rip currents along beaches that could persist for days.

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 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.

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 strengthened on Wednesday as it headed north in the Atlantic. Here's the latest update, path, warnings and more for the Jersey Shore.

As of Tuesday, the projected path of Hurricane Erin showed it just cruising well offshore past Virginia Beach, as Sandbridge area residents told 10 On Your Side, they are really not that concerned about the storm.

As Hurricane Erin grows in size, impacts from the storm’s intensity will be felt “well outside” the storm’s center, including in Hampton Roads. The storm’s impacts