Hurricane Erin weakened to a Category 3 hurricane on Sunday as its outer bands continued to reach the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

MIAMI (AP) — A stronger and bigger Hurricane Erin pelted parts of the Caribbean and was forecast to create dangerous surf and rip currents along the U.S. East Coast this week.

Powerful Hurricane Erin restrengthened and became an extremely dangerous Category 4 hurricane as it continued its journey across the Atlantic, prompting officials in North Carolina to issue local states of emergency and forcing residents and visitors to evacuate some areas.

Most of Erin’s intensification occurred during a 12- to 15-hour window overnight, according to Dan Pydynowski, a meteorologist at AccuWeather. By 5 p.m. Friday, Erin’s winds had remained only 75 mph.

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.

Erin, the first hurricane of the season, exploded to a Category 5 hurricane Saturday, and despite fluctuations in intensity, the storm is remaining formidable this weekend. Here's where it could head in the week ahead.

La tormenta Erin alcanzó fuerza huracán el viernes mientras avanzaba hacia el noreste del Caribe, lo que llevó a los meteorólogos a

Hurricane Erin was downgraded to a Category 3 hurricane early Sunday as a tropical storm warning was issued for the Turks and Caicos Islands and winds and heavy rains whipped the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.