Hurricane Erin is expected to bring large waves, rough surf and life-threatening rip currents from Florida to Canada

Hurricane Erin was a Category 4 storm Monday morning and is expected to retain major hurricane status through the middle of the week.

A tropical storm warning is in effect for: Beaufort Inlet, North Carolina to Chincoteague, Virginia, including Pamlico and Albemarle sounds. A storm surge warning means there is a danger of life-threatening inundation, from rising water moving inland from the coastline, during the next 36 hours in the indicated locations.

Hurricane Erin’s distant track off Florida’s east coast has helped to pull in dry air, worsening drought conditions and fueling wildfires across the state, including a massive 20,000-acre blaze northwest of Miami.

Hurricane Erin continues to churn in the Atlantic waters hundreds of miles off the U.S., prompting officials to close beaches along the East Coast from the mid-Atlantic to the Northeast.

Here's a quick, easy-to-read look on the latest about Hurricane Erin, including what Florida residents should know.

The Atlantic basin includes the northern Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of America, as the Gulf of Mexico is now known in the U.S. per an order from President Trump. NOAA and the National Hurricane Center are now using Gulf of America on its maps and in its advisories.

Erin’s surf and storm surge could cause erosion along sections of the Florida and East Coast and shapes up as potentially worse for North Carolina’s barrier islands, which are under mandatory evacuation orders ahead of the four feet of storm surge and 20-foot offshore waves Erin is expected to bring.

Meteorologists are closely tracking the projected path and forecast of Hurricane Erin, which is the first hurricane to develop over the Atlantic this year.