Hurricane Erin was a Category 4 storm with 130 mph winds on Monday night as it passed to the east of the Bahamas. The forecast track keeps the center of the storm well away from the U.S. East Coast this week, but tropical storm and storm surge watches have been issued for the North Carolina Outer Banks. National Hurricane Center

Erin's outer bands will start grazing the Outer Banks on Wednesday night, with increasing wind gusts of 40-60 mph.

While Erin won't hit the U.S. directly, the storm's biggest impact on the East Coast will be along the Outer Banks of North Carolina, where coastal flood watches, tropical storm watches and storm surge watches are in effect. The storm surge could be as high as 4 feet.