Hurricane Erin is still churning in the Atlantic Ocean as a Category 2 Hurricane, delivering tropical storm force winds to Turks and Caicos and parts of the Bahamas. As the storm continues to make its way north up the east coast,

Hurricane Erin has been downgraded to a Category 3 hurricane but is gaining in size and raising the risk of life-threatening surf later this week along the U.S.

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

Meteorologists are closely tracking the projected path and forecast of Hurricane Erin, which is the first hurricane to develop over the Atlantic this year.

Much of North Carolina’s Outer Banks region is under a tropical storm watch with Hurricane Erin expected to skirt the area Wednesday through Thursday, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The Ocean City Beach Patrol has closed the ocean to swimming, wading and surfing Tuesday as tropical storm activity off the coast brings dangerous conditions to the resort town.

Hurricane Erin was a Category 4 storm Monday morning and is expected to retain major hurricane status through the middle of the week.

While Erin is expected to take a northward turn in the Atlantic, a new system off the coast of Africa has the National Hurricane Center's attention.