North Carolina has been placed under a state of emergency and more than 2,000 people have been evacuated, as Hurricane Erin continues to track northward and towards the U.S. East Coast.Tropical storm force winds and surge conditions would increase in the Outer Banks region of The Tar Heel State and portions of coastal Virginia throughout the day,

The National Hurricane Center is monitoring two disturbances in the Atlantic—the first poised to approach the northern Leeward Islands later this week and the second near the Cabo Verde Islands—while Hurricane Erin, now a Category 3, heads away from the Caribbean.

The Northern Caribbean is bracing for Hurricane Erin, which at the weekend had strengthened to a Category Five storm.

Hurricane Erin has intensified to a Category 4 storm affecting the Caribbean, impacting flights and cruise itineraries, with warnings issued for the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos, and it poses a significant coastal threat to the U.

While Erin is expected to take a northward turn in the Atlantic, a new system off the coast of Africa has the National Hurricane Center's attention.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Erin strengthened into a powerful Category 4 hurricane in the Caribbean on Saturday and continues to intensify, the National Hurricane Center said. The storm is 150 miles northeast of Anguilla with maximum sustained winds of 145 mph. It is moving west-northwest at 20 mph (31 kph).

Offshore Hurricane Erin was downgraded to a Category 3 storm early Sunday, as rain lashed Caribbean islands and weather officials warned of possible flash floods and landslides.

Hurricane Erin is likely to restrengthen again as it passes east of the Turks and Caicos Islands and the southeast Bahamas on Monday after lashing the Caribbean with damaging winds and flooding rain.