Hurricane Erin's outer bands were beginning to lash the southeast Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands early Monday after regaining Category 4 strength overnight.

Hurricane Erin continues to rapidly intensify in the Atlantic Ocean with its outer bands starting to impact the northern Leeward Islands.

Hurricane Erin, churning north in the Atlantic hundreds of miles offshore, is expected to trigger a dangerous storm surge and tropical storm conditions on Wednesday along North Carolina’s Outer Banks and other stretches of the U.