NCDOT officials said "given the winds, wave heights and storm surge forecast, it likely won't be enough" to keep NC 12 from flooding at the Outer Banks.

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

The stream of overwash and flooded side roads near the oceanfront was on display in Buxton on Tuesday. With an evening high tide giving the area the first look at the potential impacts of Hurricane Erin off the coast.

By Tuesday morning, Erin had lost some strength from previous days and dropped to a Category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 110 mph (175 kph), the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.