Island communities off the coast of North Carolina are bracing for flooding ahead of the year’s first Atlantic hurricane, Hurricane Erin. Although forecasters are confident that the storm won’t make direct landfall in the United States,

Residents in the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos on Monday braced for the Atlantic season's first hurricane, the Category 4 Erin, after it strengthened over the weekend while sweeping past Caribbean islands.

While the category 4 storm is not expected to make landfall on the U.S. east coast, it will have an impact nonetheless. Dangerous high surf and rip currents are expected from Florida to New England throughout the week.

Parts of North Carolina's Outer Banks are under mandatory evacuation orders, as the National Hurricane Center warns that Hurricane Erin could bring tall waves topping 15 to 20 feet.

Hurricane Erin is expected to grow in size and strength as it moves north through the Atlantic this week. Forecasters expect it to pass well offshore of North Carolina on Wednesday and Thursday, but say it likely will cause coastal flooding and erosion, along with dangerous rip currents. National Hurricane Center

Additional strengthening is expected as the storm is forecast to “remain a large and dangerous major hurricane through the middle of this week,” the National Hurricane Center said.

Hurricane Erin was a Category 4 storm again Monday morning and is expected to grow even larger and stronger, according to the latest advisory from the National Hurricane Center. Although Erin is forecast to move north between the U.S. and Bermuda, life-threatening surf and rip currents are likely across the Atlantic coast from Florida to Canada.