Conditions along the Florida coast are expected to deteriorate Wednesday as Hurricane Erin moves north-northwest off Florida.

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.

Rough surf conditions and dangerous rip currents have forced many beaches to ban swimming and boogie boarding this week.

The first area has been under the eyes of the National Hurricane Center for a few days as it emerged off Africa’s west coast.

Erin, which became a Category 5 hurricane Saturday morning in the eastern tropical Atlantic Ocean, but has now weakened to a Category 2.

Tropical Storm Watches and Warnings have been issued for parts of North Carolina and Virginia Beach and up to Chincoteague.

Powerful Hurricane Erin has undergone a period of astonishingly rapid intensification — a phenomenon that has become far more common in recent years as the planet warms. It was a rare Category 5 for a time Saturday before becoming a Category 4,

Hurricane Erin lashes Bahamas and Turks and Caicos with winds, rain, and flooding as forecasters track a new Atlantic tropical threat.