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 Ocean City Beach Patrol has closed the ocean to swimming, wading and surfing Tuesday as tropical storm activity off the coast brings dangerous conditions to the resort town.

Tracking Hurricane Erin, the first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which weakened to a Category 3 storm early Sunday.

The storm will remain a major hurricane through the middle of the week, according to the National Hurricane Center.

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.

While Erin is expected to take a northward turn in the Atlantic, a new system off the coast of Africa has the National Hurricane Center's attention.

Hurricane Erin has grown bigger and stronger Wednesday afternoon, with its top sustained winds blowing at 110 mph, just short of returning to “major” hurricane status. Even more significant is Erin’s massive size.