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

The 5 AM advisory on Tuesday shows that Erin continues to weaken, but it is still a major hurricane. Life-threatening surf and rip currents across the East Coast of the United States this week, as Erin passes off the coast.

North Carolina's governor urged state residents along the coast to prepare and listen to emergency guidelines in anticipation of the storm.

Officials have ordered evacuations of Hatteras and Ocracoke islands even without a hurricane warning because that tiny ribbon of highway called N.C. 12 will likely be torn up and washed out in several places,

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

Dangerous coastal impacts from Hurricane Erin will peak along the East Coast on Wednesday and Thursday as the storm passes offshore.

Hurricane Erin strengthened into a Category 4 storm on Saturday morning, making it the first major hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic season.