Hurricane Erin is forcing evacuations on North Carolina’s Outer Banks as it churns in the Atlantic where high winds and heavy rain are pelting the Turks and Caicos Islands and parts of the Bahamas.

Cape Verde storms, named for the group of islands about 450 miles off the west coast of Africa, typically form from clusters of thunderstorms that move off the continent and into the Atlantic.

Evacuation orders were issued in North Carolina Tuesday as Hurricane Erin continued to swirl upward across the Atlantic Ocean and two disturbances followed behind it.

Hurricane Erin underwent rapid intensification to become a Category 5 storm in just hours. It has since weakened to a Category 4 status.

Get the complete, updated list of confirmed itinerary and port visit changes for ships impacted by Hurricane Erin.

Hurricane Erin is forecast to “substantially grow in size” while moving closer to Bermuda Tuesday with maximum sustained winds of 115 miles per hour (mph). The Miami-based National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said that the category three hurricane was about 675 miles south west of Bermuda and that a Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for the Turks and Caicos Islands,

The U.S. Air Force 403rd Wing released footage showing one of its planes entering the eye of Hurricane Erin. By early Tuesday, Erin had lost some strength from previous days and had maximum sustained winds of 115 mph (185 kph),