Hurricane Erin remained a large Category 2 system in the western Atlantic on Wednesday, with maximum sustained winds near 100 mph and a circulation roughly 400 miles south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, the National Hurricane Center said. Forecasters expect the storm to continue tracking north-northwest parallel to the U.S. coastline and possibly strengthen to about 110 mph on Thursday before turning eastward and weakening later in the week. Although the hurricane’s center is projected to stay offshore, its broad wind field is already generating life-threatening surf and rip currents from Florida to New England. Waves of 15 to 20 feet are forecast to pound beaches for several days, prompting swimming bans in New York City, Long Island and parts of New Jersey, Delaware and Massachusetts. The dangerous conditions have led to dozens of water rescues, including at least 75 at Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, since Monday. The greatest immediate threat is along North Carolina’s Outer Banks, where Gov. Josh Stein has declared a statewide emergency. Officials ordered mandatory evacuations for Ocracoke and Hatteras islands and warned that storm-surge flooding combined with large breakers could inundate protective dunes and render stretches of Highway 12 impassable for days. Emergency agencies have positioned swift-water rescue teams, 200 National Guard troops and aircraft to assist if conditions deteriorate. Erin is the fifth named storm and first major threat of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season. The cyclone peaked at Category 5 strength over the weekend, lashing Puerto Rico and parts of the Bahamas before weakening. Even without a U.S. landfall, forecasters caution that the storm’s expanding size will prolong hazardous marine conditions through at least Friday, and they urge residents and late-season vacationers to follow local advisories and avoid the ocean.