Though Hurricane Erin is not forecast to make landfall on the U.S., the storm’s rapid intensification has prompted increased measures in North Carolina.

This past weekend, Hurricane Erin went through one of the most rapid intensifications of any Atlantic hurricane on record. Climate change and other factors may make such leaps more common in

Island communities off the coast of North Carolina are bracing for flooding ahead of Hurricane Erin, the year's first Atlantic hurricane.

Erin continues to churn in the Atlantic, packing winds of 140 miles per hour and is expected to begin turning north over the next several days and parallel the East Coast. The high surf and rip currents are forecast to ramp up Thursday and Friday as the storm passes the Northeast.

Hurricane Erin was a Category 4 storm again Monday morning and is expected to grow even larger and stronger, according to the latest advisory from the National Hurricane Center. Although Erin is forecast to move north between the U.S. and Bermuda, life-threatening surf and rip currents are likely across the Atlantic coast from Florida to Canada.