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.

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.