Island communities off the coast of North Carolina are bracing for flooding ahead of Hurricane Erin, the year’s first Atlantic hurricane.

Residents in the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos on Monday braced for the Atlantic season's first hurricane, the Category 4 Erin, after it strengthened over the weekend while sweeping past the Caribbean.

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.

Hurricane Erin briefly strengthened into a Category 5 storm. It is not expected to make a direct hit on the U.S. but will create dangerous surf.

In recent decades, the Atlantic has been warming at record rates, helping hurricanes explode into powerhouses.

Hurricane Erin has strengthened to a Category 4 hurricane as it threatens to bring life-threatening surf and rip currents to the eastern coast of the United States. However, the effects of Erin are not due to be felt in the UK's weather until next week, as Simon King explains:

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The storm will remain a major hurricane through the middle of the week, according to the National Hurricane Center.