Evacuation orders were issued in North Carolina Tuesday as Hurricane Erin continued to swirl upward across the Atlantic Ocean and two disturbances followed behind it.

Notice the historical line that the storm has made a significant turn from heading west to almost directly north

While the category 4 storm is not expected to make landfall on the U.S. east coast, it will have an impact nonetheless. Dangerous high surf and rip currents are expected from Florida to New England throughout the week.

Hurricane Erin underwent rapid intensification to become a Category 5 storm in just hours. It has since weakened to a Category 4 status.

The U.S. Air Force 403rd Wing released footage showing one of its planes entering the eye of Hurricane Erin. By early Tuesday, Erin had lost some strength from previous days and had maximum sustained winds of 115 mph (185 kph),

Erin’s surf and storm surge could cause erosion along sections of the Florida and East Coast and shapes up as potentially worse for North Carolina’s barrier islands, which are under mandatory evacuation orders ahead of the four feet of storm surge and 20-foot offshore waves Erin is expected to bring.

Erin is the first hurricane to develop over the Atlantic this year, and meteorologists are closely tracking its path and forecast.

Erin strengthened again Monday as it began pelting part of the Caribbean with rain and wind before it’s expected to create dangerous surf and rip currents along the U.S. East Coast this week.