Hurricane Erin forced tourists to cut their vacations short on North Carolina’s Outer Banks even though the monster storm is expected to stay offshore after lashing part of the Caribbean with rain and wind on Monday.

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.

Tropical Storm Ernesto is expected to pass over Puerto Rico late Tuesday night, which could bring flooding, landslides and power outages. The island has closed schools and opened shelters.

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.

Hurricane Erin has been downgraded to a Category 3 hurricane but is gaining in size and is forecast to strengthen anew

Hurricane Erin is a large hurricane as it passes east of Florida. Tropical storm watches and warnings, along with storm surge watches, have been issued for portions of the U.S. Dangerous rip currents are expected for the Atlantic coast from Florida to Canada.