Hurricane Erin began strengthening again Wednesday while creeping toward the mid-Atlantic coast and churning up menacing waves that have closed beaches from the Carolinas to New York City.

Forecasters expect the storm to peak over the next 48 hours and say it could re-intensify into a major hurricane by Wednesday night.

While Erin is unlikely to make landfall along the East Coast before turning farther out to sea, authorities expect its large swells will cut off roads to villages and vacation homes on North Carolina's Outer Banks and whip up life-threatening rip currents from Florida to New England.

Despite the beach closures, some swimmers were continuing to ignore the warnings. Rescuers saved more than a dozen people caught in rip currents Tuesday at Wrightsville Beach in North Carolina -- a day after more than 80 people were rescued.

The biggest threat remained along the Outer Banks where longtime residents who stayed behind didn't seem concerned.

At Pop's Raw Bar, in Buxton, North Carolina, locals enjoyed beer and the warm weather for as long as they could before the rain arrived.