Beaches along the New Jersey coast and in Delaware were closed as the powerful storm churned in the Atlantic. Officials warned of severe waves and possible flooding.

Hurricane Erin is already wreaking havoc along the East Coast — and it hasn’t even made landfall. As the massive

Cape Hatteras, NC — Hurricane Erin continued its northward churn through the Atlantic on Tuesday, threatening dangerous surf and coastal flooding from the Bahamas to the U.S. East Coast, as tropical storm warnings and storm surge alerts were issued for parts of North Carolina’s Outer Banks ahead of the storm’s closest approach late Wednesday.

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