The National Hurricane Center is monitoring two areas in the Atlantic Ocean for potential tropical development behind Hurricane Erin, with the closest area to watch expected to to track near Puerto Rico and the Caribbean.

The massive hurricane was picking up speed, traveling north at 14 mph, and its center was located about 295 miles south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. A tropical storm warning is in effect for parts of North Carolina and Virginia as the impacts from Erin spread northward.

Hurricane Erin lashes Bahamas and Turks and Caicos with winds, rain, and flooding as forecasters track a new Atlantic tropical threat.

With thousands of miles of ocean water above the 80-degree Fahrenheit temperature needed to fuel hurricanes, Cape Verde storms are some of the most dangerous that threaten North America. About 85% of all major hurricanes — Category 3 and higher — start out there, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The first area has been under the eyes of the National Hurricane Center for a few days as it emerged off Africa’s west coast.

Tropical Storm Erin is tracking west over the open Atlantic Ocean on Tuesday and forecasters expect it to become the first hurricane of the Atlantic season this week.

Erin developed in the eastern Atlantic, moving westward from the Cabo Verde Islands at about 20 mph (32 km/h). Infrared sensors on NOAA's GOES-19 satellite reveal colder cloud tops and deep convection near the center — signs of a strengthening system feeding on warm ocean waters.

The National Hurricane Center is tracking two tropical waves in the eastern and central Atlantic Ocean, far from the U.S. coast.

Forecasters are tracking two tropical disturbances behind Hurricane Erin, but neither shows signs of becoming an immediate threat to land. One system east of the Lesser Antilles has only a medium chance of development,