Hurricane Erin's outer bands were beginning to lash the southeast Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands early Monday after regaining Category 4 strength overnight.

Additional strengthening is expected as the storm is forecast to “remain a large and dangerous major hurricane through the middle of this week,” the National Hurricane Center said.

Powerful Hurricane Erin has undergone a period of astonishingly rapid intensification — a phenomenon that has become far more common in recent years as the planet warms. It was a rare Category 5 for a time Saturday before becoming a Category 4, churning through the Atlantic Ocean north of the Caribbean.

Life-threatening waves and rip currents are expected along the East Coast this week, with Hatteras Island in the Outer Banks under an evacuation order.

After pummeling the Caribbean as a Category 3 hurricane over the weekend, Hurricane Erin has restrengthened to a Category 4 and is expected to bring life-threatening waves and rip currents up and down the East Coast.

Hurricane Erin has reintensified into a Category 4 storm on Aug. 18, according to the National Hurricane Center. See where Erin is headed.

Hurricane Erin is pelting parts of the Caribbean and is forecast to create dangerous surf and rip currents along the U.S. East Coast this week.