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.

Though Hurricane Erin will not make landfall in the U.S., here's why a Tropical Storm Watch has been issued for parts of North Carolina.

Island communities off the coast of North Carolina are bracing for flooding ahead of Hurricane Erin, the year’s first Atlantic hurricane.

The center of Hurricane Erin is expected to remain offshore, but forecasters expect eastern North Carolina to see coastal flooding, tropical-storm-force winds, overwash and beach erosion.

In Wrightsville Beach Monday afternoon red flags were flying, and 50 rip current rescues were reported. Hurricane Erin is expected to pass well offshore of the North Carolina Coast but because of its size and strength dangerous rip currents are already impacting our beaches.

Hurricane Erin is still headed north, slowly powering up the Atlantic. While on average a hurricane moves at 15 to 20 mph, Erin, a Category 4 storm, has been moving at 10 mph, sometimes slower, according to the National Hurricane Center.