Powerful Hurricane Erin has undergone a period of astonishingly rapid intensification — a phenomenon that has become far more common in recent years as the planet warms. It was a rare Category 5 for a time Saturday before becoming a Category 4,

Erin is not forecast to hit the U.S. directly, but coastal areas along the Eastern Seaboard will feel its effects with dangerous high waves and rip currents over the next several days. "These rough ocean conditions will likely cause life-threatening surf and rip currents," the National Hurricane Center warned.

Erin is the fifth named storm to develop during the Atlantic hurricane season, which started just over two months ago. Last week, Tropical Storm Dexter formed in the western Atlantic but didn't pose a threat to land. In early July, Tropical Storm Chantal made landfall on the Carolina coast, bringing deadly flooding to the region.

After exploding in strength at a historic rate this weekend, Hurricane Erin is now a sprawling Category 4 storm churning in the Atlantic. The storm’s enormous footprint is becoming the biggest concern as it threatens to drive life-threatening rip currents and towering waves toward the eastern US coastline and Bermuda.

Follow Hurricane Erin's path over the Atlantic Ocean, see a live satellite view of the storm, and see Erin's currently-projected path by checking the maps below.

Hurricane Erin was a Category 4 storm again Monday morning and is expected to grow even larger and stronger, according to the latest advisory from the National Hurricane Center. Although Erin is forecast to move north between the U.S. and Bermuda, life-threatening surf and rip currents are likely across the Atlantic coast from Florida to Canada.

Hurricane Erin is expected to bring life-threatening surf and rip currents across the U.S. eastern seaboard this week, according to the National Hurricane Center. It is now a Category 4 storm with maximum sustained winds of 130 mph.

A westward-moving tropical wave could produce an area of low pressure in the tropical Atlantic late in the week of Aug. 18, the hurricane center said on Aug. 16. The center shows a 20% chance of storm formation over the next week.