Dozens of people have been rescued from rip currents as Hurricane Erin churns up the Eastern seaboard. Authorities said about 60 people have been rescued from rip currents at Wrightsville Beach, N.C., according to the Wilmington Star-News and NBC affiliate WRAL-TV .

Although the storm is expected to stay offshore, it will produce dangerous surf conditions for much of the Atlantic Coast this week, forecasters say.

Hurricane Erin on Wednesday grew in size as it made its way up into the Atlantic off the U.S. East Coast with tropical-storm conditions forecast to hit North Carolina and dangerous surf left

The first Atlantic hurricane of the season is forecast to bring heavy rain and life-threatening surf and rip currents to the U.S. East Coast this week.

Forecasts nudge Erin's likely path to the west, increasing the risks at U.S. beaches. Tropical storm conditions are expected in North Carolina's Outer Banks starting late Wednesday.

Hurricane forecasters are tracking two tropical waves in the Atlantic that could be the next areas of concern in the wake of Hurricane Erin. Here’s what the spaghetti models are showing.

Hurricane force winds extend up to 80 miles from the center. Tropical storm force winds extend up to 205 miles out.

A 5 p.m. update listed the chances of the wave's further development at 60% over the next seven days. The wave is producing “disorganized showers and thunderstorms” and could form a tropical depression by the end of the week as it moves toward the Windward Islands on the eastern side of the Caribbean,