Hurricane Erin's path will keep its strongest winds offshore. However, this large storm will hammer the East Coast with coastal flooding and life-threatening rip currents through Friday. Here's the latest forecast.

Hurricane Erin, now a Category 2 hurricane, won't make landfall on the U.S. East Coast, but it will impact residents and visitors at North Carolina's Outer Banks.

Aug. 18 (UPI) -- The outer bands of Hurricane Erin neared North Carolina's Outer Banks on Wednesday evening, prompting the National Hurricane Center to issue warnings against swimming at most East Coast beaches.

Thousands of people were evacuated off parts of North Carolina's Outer Banks amid the threat of a storm surge. Meanwhile, beaches remained off limits along the East Coast as dangerous waves and rip currents slammed shorelines.

Hurricane Erin has triggered a state of emergency in North Carolina, where residents and visitors along the Outer Banks are under evacuation orders.

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