After exploding in strength at a historic rate this weekend, Hurricane Erin is now a sprawling Category 4 storm churning in the Atlantic. The storm’s enormous footprint is becoming the biggest concern as it threatens to drive life-threatening rip currents and towering waves toward the eastern US coastline and Bermuda.

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

Erin developed in the eastern Atlantic, moving westward from the Cabo Verde Islands at about 20 mph (32 km/h). Infrared sensors on NOAA's GOES-19 satellite reveal colder cloud tops and deep convection near the center — signs of a strengthening system feeding on warm ocean waters.

Footage shows a view from a plane as it flies through the eye of the category 4 storm.

The system is moving in the same direction and similar path to Erin, heading westward to west-northwestward at 15 to 20 miles per hour.