High surf and dangerous rip currents are likely. People are advised to stay out of the water this week, even when a lifeguard is on duty.

The Category 2 hurricane saw its winds weaken to as low as 100 mph on Aug. 19 as its north side battled winds, but the National Hurricane Center said early on Aug. 20 that the storm had reformed an inner eye wall, and a Hurricane Hunter mission this morning is expected to help the center determine if winds have increased in response.

Hurricane Erin continues to churn in the Atlantic waters hundreds of miles off the U.S., prompting officials to close beaches along the East Coast from the mid-Atlantic to the Northeast.

Hurricane Erin is still churning in the Atlantic Ocean as a Category 2 Hurricane, delivering tropical storm force winds to Turks and Caicos and parts of the Bahamas. As the storm continues to make its way north up the east coast,

The first Atlantic hurricane of the season is forecast to bring heavy rain and life-threatening surf and rip currents to the U.S. East Coast this week.

Forecasting a storm's intensity can be more challenging than predicting where it will make landfall. Forecast models, particularly for hurricanes, have improved, but they can still miss intensification or overstate it. Below is the intensity for Erin so far, and how experts at the Hurricane Center believe it will weaken or strengthen.