Much of North Carolina’s Outer Banks region is under a tropical storm watch with Hurricane Erin expected to skirt the area this week, according to the National Hurricane Center. The sprawling Category 4 storm is churning in the Atlantic Monday after exploding in strength at a historic rate this weekend fueling the potential for life-threatening rip currents and towering waves toward the eastern US coastline and Bermuda,

On Monday at 10:41 p.m. an updated tropical storm watch was issued by the NWS Newport/Morehead City NC in effect until Tuesday at 6:45 a.m. for Northern Outer Banks.

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.