Much of North Carolina’s Outer Banks region is under a tropical storm watch with Hurricane Erin expected to skirt the area this week, according to the National Hurricane Center. The sprawling Category 4 storm is churning in the Atlantic Monday after exploding in strength at a historic rate this weekend fueling the potential for life-threatening rip currents and towering waves toward the eastern US coastline and Bermuda,

Island communities off the coast of North Carolina are bracing for flooding ahead of Hurricane Erin, the year’s first Atlantic hurricane.

Additional strengthening is expected as the storm is forecast to “remain a large and dangerous major hurricane through the middle of this week,” the National Hurricane Center said.

"We cannot put this more bluntly: we now EXPECT there will be times over the next week that N.C .12 becomes impassable due to significant ocean overwash," OBX transportation officials said.

Hurricane Erin is expected to grow in size and strength as it moves north through the Atlantic this week. Forecasters expect it to pass well offshore of North Carolina on Wednesday and Thursday, but say it likely will cause coastal flooding and erosion, along with dangerous rip currents.