Hurricane Erin weakened to a Category 3 hurricane during the early hours of Aug. 19 as it moves closer to the East Coast, according to the National Hurricane Center.

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

As millions of people along the East Coast prepare for impacts from Hurricane Erin, coastal communities in New Jersey and Delaware are facing dangerous rip currents and high surf risks.

Hurricane Erin is still headed north, slowly powering up the Atlantic. While on average a hurricane moves at 15 to 20 mph, Erin, a Category 4 storm, has been moving at 10 mph, sometimes slower, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Powerful waves of 15 to 20 feet are expected to slam beaches, especially in North Carolina, for 48 hours or more as the hurricane crawls northward offshore through at least Thursday. "Outer bands of large Hurricane Erin nearing the North Carolina Outer Banks,

On Wednesday morning, Hurricane Erin was several hundred miles off the coast of Florida and beginning to push storm surge and deadly rip currents toward the shore. Two other systems may form right

A cold front moving across Maryland today will bring wet weather and a few rumbles of thunder before pushing through tonight, setting the stage for cooler, breezier conditions as Hurricane Erin tracks well offshore.

Get an abbreviated, text view of what's happening with Hurricane Erin. Hurricane Erin strengthened as it took a turn to the north Wednesday and conditions are expected to deteriorate soon in North Carolina's Outer Banks,