Much of North Carolina’s Outer Banks region is under a tropical storm watch with Hurricane Erin expected to skirt the area Wednesday through Thursday, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Hurricane Erin is forcing evacuations on North Carolina’s Outer Banks as it churns in the Atlantic where high winds and heavy rain are pelting the Turks and Caicos Islands and parts of the Bahamas.

Erin is the first hurricane to develop over the Atlantic this year, and meteorologists are closely tracking its path and forecast.