Meteorologists are closely tracking the projected path and forecast of Hurricane Erin, which is the first hurricane to develop over the Atlantic this year.

Much of North Carolina’s Outer Banks region is under a tropical storm watch with Hurricane Erin expected to skirt the area Wednesday through Thursday, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Erin briefly became a Category 5 hurricane over the weekend and weakened to Category 3 status as it moved north and west of Puerto Rico this weekend. It is now a Category 4 storm and will be moving more north in the next few days. A second disturbance could develop west of Erin later this week.

Erin isn't as intense as it once was. But its large size is what matters most. While it won't landfall, it will bring high surf and rip currents to much of the East Coast. And it could bring damaging surge flooding for some.

Although the storm is expected to stay offshore, it will produce dangerous surf conditions for much of the Atlantic Coast this week, forecasters say.

On North Carolina’s Outer Banks, barrier islands that stretch over 175 miles, coastal flooding was expected to begin Tuesday and continue through Thursday. Two of the four counties on the Outer

While Erin won't hit the U.S. directly, the storm's biggest impact on the East Coast will be along the Outer Banks of North Carolina, where coastal flood watches, tropical storm watches and storm surge watches are in effect. The storm surge could be as high as 4 feet.

Hurricane Erin, which started as a tropical storm west of the Cabo Verde Islands, is making its way towards the east coast — although, its core is not forecast to go over land.

Hurricane Erin is poised to bring deadly rip currents to the entire US East Coast, as well as destructive waves and storm surge to North Carolina’s Outer Banks. Meanwhile, Atlantic hurricane season is hitting its stride,

The Ocean City Beach Patrol has closed the ocean to swimming, wading and surfing Tuesday as tropical storm activity off the coast brings dangerous conditions to the resort town.

Hurricane Erin was a Category 4 storm Monday morning and is expected to retain major hurricane status through the middle of the week.