Erin has become the first hurricane of the Atlantic season with strong waves and rip currents possible along the East Coast of the United States as early as next week.

"Anyone visiting the beaches should stay out of the surf." East Coast beaches under official swim ban as major warnings increase over Hurricane Erin's climb toward US: 'Life-threatening surf and rip currents' first appeared on The Cool Down.

Hurricane Erin has reintensified into a Category 4 storm on Aug. 18, according to the National Hurricane Center. See where Erin is headed.

Rip currents are the third leading cause of deaths from hurricanes, and they can happen on a sunny day hundreds of miles from the storm.

The Tropical Storm Watch is extended northward along the U.S. Atlantic coast, and now stretches from Duck to Chincoteague. A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect south of Duck, to Beaufort Inlet, including the Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds.

Hurricane Erin could 'at least double or triple in size' next week and the track has shifted south, but remains likely to turn away from the East Coast.

Although the storm is expected to stay offshore, it will produce dangerous surf conditions for much of the Atlantic Coast this week, forecasters say.

Indeed, the East Coast is made up of a large number of states, and several of them require more wealth than New York to be among the top 20%. Because the East Coast is so diverse with so many ...

The central United States could see a break from the dry weather in the coming week or so, according to the six- to 10-day precipitation outlook from the NWS Climate Prediction Center.

Hurricane Erin's higher tides and big waves are battering much of the East Coast, with the large storm prompting the expansion of tropical storm and coastal flooding advisories Wednesday. Beachfront property owners are bracing for the worst amid predictions of a storm surge of up to 4 feet and significant coastal erosion.