Now, North Carolina officials have declared a state of emergency and ordered mandatory evacuations for multiple coastal areas.

Flood warnings are also in effect for parts of South Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, New Jersey, New York and Massachusetts.

While Erin is not expected to make landfall, the storm is set to generate massive 20-foot waves and dangerous rip currents along the East Coast, despite being around 200 miles offshore.

Thanks to the use of satellite data by scientists, forecasters estimate winds of about 115 mph – though the National Hurricane Center are expressing some caution surrounding this number.

“There are mixed signals on Erin’s future intensity,” the NHC said (via The Daily Mail). “More favorable environmental shear and upper-level divergence in 24–36 hours