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.

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 was a Category 4 storm with 130 mph winds on Monday night as it passed to the east of the Bahamas. The forecast track keeps the center of the storm well away from the U.S. East Coast this week, but tropical storm and storm surge watches have been issued for the North Carolina Outer Banks. National Hurricane Center

The NWS Newport/Morehead City NC released an updated storm surge watch at 5:05 a.m. on Tuesday in effect until 1:15 p.m. for Ocracoke Island.

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

A tropical storm watch was issued by the NWS Newport/Morehead City NC on Monday at 4:50 p.m. in effect until Tuesday at 2 a.m. for Ocracoke Island.

The NWS Newport/Morehead City NC issued an updated tropical storm watch at 10:41 p.m. on Monday in effect until Tuesday at 6:45 a.m. for Hatteras Island.

The storm has triggered a state of emergency in North Carolina and has caused residents and visitors along the Outer Banks to be under evacuation orders.

The NWS Wakefield VA released an updated tropical storm watch at 4:58 p.m. on Tuesday in effect until Wednesday at 1 a.m. for Eastern Currituck.

The heat should get knocked down a couple of degrees with more numerous storms the next few days while Hurricane Erin is still a monster storm and two more tropical waves could develop into tropical c

The Seattle Storm looks to strengthen its grasp on the No. 8 seed in the WNBA playoffs on Tuesday at Wintrust Arena to take on the Chicago Sky.