Hurricane Erin on Monday bulked back up as a major Category 4 storm with an increasing wind field as it moved near the Bahamas. Meanwhile, the National Hurricane Center increased the odds a system

Though Hurricane Erin is not forecast to make landfall on the U.S., the storm’s rapid intensification has prompted increased measures in North Carolina.

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.

Additional strengthening is expected as the storm is forecast to “remain a large and dangerous major hurricane through the middle of this week,” the National Hurricane Center said.

As of Monday afternoon, Hurricane Erin was spinning several hundred miles south and east of Florida and forecasters are expecting the storm to grow bigger.

Hurricane Erin forced tourists to cut their vacations short on North Carolina’s Outer Banks even though the monster storm is expected to stay offshore after lashing part of the Caribbean

Hurricanes are large storms. While a hurricane wouldn’t still be at hurricane strength if it tracked to Michigan, the storm can have a big influence on our weather. In fact, even hurricanes that come nowhere near Michigan will influence our weather.

Hurricane Erin is expected to grow in size and strength as it moves north through the Atlantic this week. Forecasters expect it to pass well offshore of North Carolina on Wednesday and Thursday, but say it likely will cause coastal flooding and erosion, along with dangerous rip currents.