"Extreme beach and coastal damage is likely along the oceanside, resulting in a significant threat to life and property," weather forecasters said about a Hurricane Erin impact on the OBX and other North Carolina coastal areas.

The storm will remain a major hurricane through the middle of the week, according to the National Hurricane Center.

U.S. shores are unlikely to see a direct hit, but a strong offshore hurricane can produce massive and dangerous waves well away from its center.

Hurricane Erin weakened to a Category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph as its outer bands pounded the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico with gusty winds and heavy rains early Sunday.

Hurricane Erin won’t make landfall on the Outer Banks but is projected to produce dangerous rip currents along the beaches.

Mighty Hurricane Erin will cruise waters just east of the United States this week. Even if the center of the hurricane remains offshore, far-reaching and dangerous impacts will be felt at the beaches.

Sunday features hot temperatures with very high humidity, with dew points once again at or a little above 70 degrees for many of us. An uneventful cold front passing through the area Sunday night will bring an end to this one-day heat fest, and now it’s on to cooler temperatures to start the work week.

Hurricane hunters with the NOAA flew through the eye of Hurricane Erin after it rapidly intensified into a rare Category 5 hurricane. Erin is expected to continue to fluctuate in intensity as it undergoes an eyewall replacement cycle.