The massive hurricane was picking up speed, traveling north at 14 mph, and its center was located about 295 miles south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. A tropical storm warning is in effect for parts of North Carolina and Virginia as the impacts from Erin spread northward.

The International Space Station captured the unusually large storm as it swirled near the East Coast of the United States.

Hurricane Erin's push up alongside the east coast is bringing rough seas and high winds to Cape Cod and the Islands, disrupting ferry travel in the waning weeks of summer.

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.

Videos show massive waves lashing abandoned homes on North Carolina's Outer Banks as the storm passes the U.S.

Hurricane Erin is tracking north as a Category 2 storm, nearly parallel to the East Coast. It is expected to strengthen back into a Category 3 hurricane later tonight. Follow here for live updates.

The storm is bringing dangerous conditions to parts of the coast on Wednesday, but will then turn away from the United States.

"Heavy rainfall is possible on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, with potential for a maximum of 4 inches," NHC said Tuesday.