Powerful Hurricane Erin is expected to bring high seas, big rip currents, and rough surf as it moves between the United States and Bermuda.

Meteorologists are closely tracking the projected path and forecast of Hurricane Erin, which is the first hurricane to develop over the Atlantic this year.

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.

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

Storm surge flooding and tropical storm conditions from Hurricane Erin are forecast for the Outer Banks of North Carolina starting Wednesday evening. At 5 p.

The already sprawling storm will grow larger as it hurls the ocean toward the East Coast and Bermuda, and it could have company this week.

Erin is the fifth named storm to develop during the Atlantic hurricane season, which started just over two months ago. Last week, Tropical Storm Dexter formed in the western Atlantic but didn't pose a threat to land. In early July, Tropical Storm Chantal made landfall on the Carolina coast, bringing deadly flooding to the region.

(WSET) — ABC13 has received many questions about what we can expect from Hurricane Erin across Central Virginia. Hurricane Erin reached Category 5 status over the weekend and remains a major storm. On Thursday, Erin will pass between the North Carolina coast and Bermuda, and the center of Erin will stay more than 300 miles away from the ABC13 area.