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.

On North Carolina’s Outer Banks, barrier islands that stretch over 175 miles, coastal flooding was expected to begin Tuesday and continue through Thursday. Two of the four counties on the Outer

H urricane Erin, now a Category 2 hurricane, has prompted a tropical storm watch for North Carolina's Outer Banks and is expected to bring dangerous waves and rip currents to beaches along the East Coast. While the storm won't make landfall on the East Coast, it has prompted mandatory evacuations for some Outer Banks residents and visitors.