The U.S. was expected to avoid a direct hit, but Dare County made the order due to the storm's expected "life-threatening impacts."

Hurricane Erin weakened to a Category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph as its outer bands pounded the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico with gusty winds and heavy rains early Sunday.

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

Hurricane Erin, currently a Category 3 storm, is expected to intensify and grow in size, prompting Dare and Hyde counties to declare states of emergency and order mandatory evacuations for Hatteras and Ocracoke Islands.

The storm is about 150 miles north of San Juan, Puerto Rico. Erin rapidly intensified into a category 5 major hurricane late Saturday morning. Erin is one of the fastest-growing storms on record. Its sustained winds increased from 75 mph on Friday morning to l60 mph by Saturday morning.

Hurricane Erin is forecast to continue growing in size, with hurricane-force winds extending up to 50 miles from its center.

Hurricane Erin is forecast to remain well offshore but still bring hazardous currents and possible erosion like previous offshore hurricanes before it.

Sunday features hot temperatures with very high humidity, with dew points once again at or a little above 70 degrees for many of us. An uneventful cold front passing through the area Sunday night will bring an end to this one-day heat fest, and now it’s on to cooler temperatures to start the work week.