Stronger Hurricane Erin forecast to create dangerous surf along US coast

A stronger and bigger Hurricane Erin pelted parts of the Caribbean and was forecast to create dangerous surf and rip currents along the US East Coast this week.

It reintensified to a Category 4 storm with 215 kph maximum sustained winds late Sunday as its outer bands lashed the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, according to the US National Hurricane Centre in Miami.

Erin was forecast to bring tropical storm conditions to the Turks and Caicos Islands and the southeast Bahamas overnight into Monday.

Additional strengthening was forecast for Monday followed by gradual weakening, but Erin was expected to remain a large, major hurricane into midweek.

Hurricane-force winds extended up to 95 kilometres from the centre and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 370 km. The area of strong winds is expected to grow more over the next few days. At that size, Erin will impact coastal areas even though it isn't forecast to make a direct landfall.

Dare County, North Carolina, declared an emergency and ordered an evacuation beginning Monday of Hatteras Island on the Outer Banks, the thin stretch of low-lying barrier islands that juts far into the Atlantic.

Several days of heavy surf and high winds and waves could wash out parts of N.C. Highway 12 running along the barrier islands, the National Weather Service said.

As of late Sunday, Erin was about 205 kilometres east-northeast of Grand Turk Island and about 1,555 kilometres south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. It was moving northwest at 19 kph.

Erin, the year's first Atlantic hurricane, reached an exceedingly dangerous Category 5 status Saturday with 260 kph winds before weakening. It is expected to remain powerful for the next several days and grow in size.

You're dealing with a major hurricane. The intensity is fluctuating. It's a dangerous hurricane in any event, said Richard Pasch of the National Hurricane Center.

Erin's outer bands pelted parts of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands with heavy rains and tropical-storm winds during the day Sunday.

That knocked out power to about 147,000 customers, according to Luma Energy, a private company that oversees the transmission and distribution of power on the island. More than 20 flights were cancelled due to the weather.

The Coast Guard allowed all ports in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands to reopen Sunday as winds and rains decreased.

Rough ocean conditions were forecast for parts of the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola and the Turks and Caicos the next couple of days. Life-threatening surf and rip currents were forecast into midweek for the Bahamas, Bermuda, the US East Coast and Canada's Atlantic coast as Erin turns north and then northeast.

Scientists have linked the rapid intensification of hurricanes in the Atlantic to climate change. Global warming is causing the atmosphere to hold more water vapour and is spiking ocean temperatures, and warmer waters give hurricanes fuel to unleash more rain and strengthen more quickly.