A powerful and sprawling Hurricane Erin continued lashing hundreds of miles of coastline along the Eastern Seaboard with its outer bands Thursday morning, proving a storm of such size doesn't need to make landfall to bring widespread impacts.

North Carolina expects coastal flooding from massive waves, tropical-storm-force winds and tidal and storm surges for much of the state shoreline, especially the Outer Banks, as well as life-threatening rip currents for most of the week, Stein said, adding, "No one should be in the ocean."

Hurricane Erin is moving closer to the U.S. coast at the start of the workweek. Strong wind and big waves will cause problems for our North Carolina beaches as summer vacations continue.

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 has battered North Carolina’s Outer Banks with strong winds and waves that flooded part of the main highway and surged under beachfront homes.

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.

Roads are closed, and storm surge and tropical storm warnings are still in place, as the coast braces for dangerous conditions for a few more days.

Videos show massive waves lashing abandoned homes on North Carolina's Outer Banks as the storm passes the U.S.

Hurricane Erin was a Category 2 storm with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph as it made its closest approach to the U.S.