By Rich McKay (Reuters) -Hurricane Erin, churning north in the Atlantic hundreds of miles offshore, is expected to trigger a dangerous storm surge and tropical storm conditions on Wednesday along North Carolina’s Outer Banks and other stretches of the U.

A tropical storm warning has been issued for North Carolina as Hurricane Erin churns up the east coast of the U.S. as a Category 2 storm.

Dangerous rip currents are expected along the U.S. East Coast as Hurricane Erin grows in size this week, the National Hurricane Center said Tuesday.