Island communities off the coast of North Carolina are bracing for flooding ahead of the year’s first Atlantic hurricane, Hurricane Erin. Although forecasters are confident that the storm won’t make direct landfall in the United States,

Parts of North Carolina's Outer Banks are under mandatory evacuation orders, as the National Hurricane Center warns that Hurricane Erin could bring tall waves topping 15 to 20 feet.

While the category 4 storm is not expected to make landfall on the U.S. east coast, it will have an impact nonetheless. Dangerous high surf and rip currents are expected from Florida to New England throughout the week.

Residents in the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos on Monday braced for the Atlantic season's first hurricane, the Category 4 Erin, after it strengthened over the weekend while sweeping past Caribbean islands.

Maximum sustained winds have increased to near 140 mph, with higher gusts. Erin is a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Some additional strengthening is expected today. Erin will remain a dangerous major hurricane through the middle of this week.

Hurricane Erin, now a powerful Category 4 storm churning in the Caribbean, is not forecast to hit land, but it will bring large waves and dangerous rip currents to the U.S. East Coast.

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. National Hurricane Center