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

Most hurricanes that go down in history are remembered for the devastation they bring. But with little to no chance of hitting land, Hurricane Erin will be remembered for something else: its size.

Hurricane Erin was the fifth named storm of the season. As of Thursday afternoon, the storm is still a Category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained wind speeds of 100 mph. Its path is taking it away from the U.S., after, for the past few days, the storm has skirted the East Coast and caused dangerous waves and life-threatening rip currents.

Big waves and whipping winds are bringing dangerous beach conditions to the Massachusetts coast, prompting closures and warnings as Hurricane Erin churned hundreds of miles offshore.

Hurricane Erin has battered North Carolina’s Outer Banks with strong winds and waves that flooded part of the main highway and surged under beachfront homes.

Beachfront property owners braced for the worst amid predictions of a storm surge of up to 4 feet and significant coastal erosion. Powerful waves of 15 to 20 feet are expected to slam beaches, especially in North Carolina, for 48 hours or more as the hurricane crawls northward offshore through at least Thursday.

Hurricane Erin swept away between 40 and 50 sea turtle nests along the Volusia County coastline on Wednesday. The hurricane brought big waves to the beaches, resulting in several high tide events that affected the nests.

Nantucket was closest to Erin’s anticipated path in New England and was likely to see the strongest winds, gusting about 25 to 35 mph (40 to 55 kph) at peak with waves potentially reaching a height of 10-13 feet (3-4 meters).

In October 2017, the ex-hurricane Ophelia struck the British Isles, bringing hurricane-strength gusts of up to 90 miles per hour, particularly along the Irish Sea coasts of west Wales, while the Republic of Ireland saw winds of up to 97 miles per hour.

Hurricane Erin is causing coastal damage along Florida’s shoreline, and experts warn it may have a severe impact on local sea turtle populations. Scattered along area beaches, marked sea turtle nests face the risk of being washed out by high tides and strong waves,

High tide Thursday evening could bring more damage to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, even as Hurricane Erin spins away into the Atlantic Ocean.