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.

North Carolina residents share their thoughts on the possible impact of Hurricane Erin to the Outer Banks where they live. (AP video: Allen Breed)

Tropical storm watches expand from the Virginia beaches to Fenwick Island, Delaware, including Ocean City, Maryland.

High surf and dangerous rip currents are likely. People are advised to stay out of the water this week, even when a lifeguard is on duty.

Beaches along the New Jersey coast and in Delaware were closed Tuesday as the powerful storm churned in the Atlantic. New York City announced its beaches would close on Wednesday and Thursday.

Dangerous coastal impacts from Hurricane Erin will peak along the East Coast on Wednesday and Thursday as the storm passes offshore.

Officials have ordered evacuations of Hatteras and Ocracoke islands even without a hurricane warning because that tiny ribbon of highway called N.C. 12 will likely be torn up and washed out in several places,

A Wisconsin-based Boy Scout troop is stuck in the U.S. Virgin Islands as Hurricane Erin barrels through the Atlantic Ocean.