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.

Hurricane Erin is still churning north and on track to pass by the Jersey Shore and Delaware beaches hundreds of miles off the coast. While the heart of the storm will likely stay well offshore (fortunately),

On Thursday, Hurricane Erin was several hundred miles off the coast of North Carolina and pushing storm surge and deadly rip currents toward the shore. Two other systems may form right behind.

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

According to a 5 a.m. ET advisory from the National Hurricane Center on Aug. 20, Erin is located about 455 miles south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, with maximum sustained winds near 100 mph with higher gusts.

The International Space Station captured the unusually large storm as it swirled near the East Coast of the United States.

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 tracking north as a Category 2 storm, nearly parallel to the East Coast. It is expected to strengthen back into a Category 3 hurricane later tonight. Follow here for live updates.

The storm is bringing dangerous conditions to parts of the coast on Wednesday, but will then turn away from the United States.

Hurricane Erin's push up alongside the east coast is bringing rough seas and high winds to Cape Cod and the Islands, disrupting ferry travel in the waning weeks of summer.

There are an estimated 300,000 annual drowning deaths worldwide, according to WHO. That comes out to an average of 822 people per day. Here’s how to avoid becoming a statistic.