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.

The storm could bring "life-threatening surf and rip currents" and potential flooding, officials say, as the category two hurricane churns north just off shore.

Hurricane Erin is hundreds of miles away from the tri-state area, but the monster storm is directly impacting the region with life-threatening rip currents, huge waves and strong winds. Beaches across New York and New Jersey are closed to swimming through at least Thursday,

Beachfront property owners braced for the worst amid predictions of a storm surge of up to 4 feet and significant coastal erosion. Powerful waves of 15 to 20 feet are expected to slam beaches, especially in North Carolina, for 48 hours or more as the hurricane crawls northward offshore through at least Thursday.

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 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),

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."

Life-threatening rip currents brought by the offshore storm are forecast to last for at least a couple more days.

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

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