Thousands of people were evacuated off parts of North Carolina's Outer Banks amid the threat of a storm surge. Meanwhile, beaches remained off limits along the East Coast as dangerous waves and rip currents slammed shorelines.

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

Hurricane Erin is moving closer to the U.S. coast at the start of the workweek. Strong wind and big waves will cause problems for our North Carolina beaches as summer vacations continue.

Storm surge flooding and tropical storm conditions from Hurricane Erin are forecast for the Outer Banks of North Carolina starting Wednesday evening. At 5 p.

Most of the tourists have left Ocracoke Island, and the surfers are watching closely as deadly rip currents lurk below the waves.

The NWS Newport/Morehead City NC released a storm surge watch at 4:50 p.m. on Monday in effect until Tuesday at 2 a.m. for Hatteras Island.