Notice the historical line that the storm has made a significant turn from heading west to almost directly north

Erin strengthened again Monday as it began pelting part of the Caribbean with rain and wind before it’s expected to create dangerous surf and rip currents along the U.S. East Coast this week.

Forecasters are confident it will curl north and away from the eastern U.S., but tropical storm and surge watches were issued for much of North Carolina’s Outer Banks.

Hurricane Erin underwent rapid intensification to become a Category 5 storm in just hours. It has since weakened to a Category 4 status.

Evacuation orders were issued in North Carolina Tuesday as Hurricane Erin continued to swirl upward across the Atlantic Ocean and two disturbances followed behind it.

Hurricane Erin strengthened 85 mph in 24 hours to a 160 mph Category 5 hurricane putting in fourth place for rapidly intensifying storms.

Erin’s surf and storm surge could cause erosion along sections of the Florida and East Coast and shapes up as potentially worse for North Carolina’s barrier islands, which are under mandatory evacuation orders ahead of the four feet of storm surge and 20-foot offshore waves Erin is expected to bring.

The U.S. Air Force 403rd Wing released footage showing one of its planes entering the eye of Hurricane Erin. By early Tuesday, Erin had lost some strength from previous days and had maximum sustained winds of 115 mph (185 kph),

Hurricane Erin exploded in strength to a Category 5 storm in the Caribbean before weakening on Saturday, the National Hurricane Center said.