The monster storm intensified to a Category 4 with 140 mph (225 kph) maximum sustained winds early Monday while it started to lash the Turks and Caicos Islands and the southeast Bahamas, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami.

Erin has become the first hurricane of the Atlantic season with strong waves and rip currents possible along the East Coast of the United States as early as next week.

Hurricane Erin was a Category 4 storm Monday morning and is expected to retain major hurricane status through the middle of the week.

Dozens of still-rooted tree stumps uncovered by beach erosion have given scientists a window into what North Carolina’s Outer Banks looked like before the arrival of Europeans. Nearly 30 stumps ...