By Tuesday morning, Erin had lost some strength from previous days and dropped to a Category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 110 mph (175 kph), the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.

Mandatory evacuations are underway for parts of the Outer Banks, including Dare and Hyde counties and various islands, as Hurricane Erin draws closer.

Hurricane Erin will slide to our east on Thursday, bringing with it gusty winds, showers, and coastal flooding.

NC Highway 12 remains open for those who still need to evacuate, so please listen to evacuation orders. Officials will only close NC-12 when it becomes impassable. Find out how NCDOT is preparing for Hurricane Erin.

NCDOT officials said "given the winds, wave heights and storm surge forecast, it likely won't be enough" to keep NC 12 from flooding at the Outer Banks.

Two more tropical systems trail Hurricane Erin, which is following a projected course that brushes past the East Coast without making landfall.

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