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,

Meteorologists are closely tracking the projected path and forecast of Hurricane Erin, which is the first hurricane to develop over the Atlantic this year.

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.

Outer bands from Hurricane Erin could lash the North Carolina coastline with tropical-storm-force winds and heavy rain as it passes by the Outer Banks, where a Tropical Storm Watch and a Storm Surge Watch were issued.

Hurricane Erin rapidly intensified last week, going from a Category 1 hurricane to a Category 5 hurricane with winds of 160 mph in a matter of hours.