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.

Residents across North Carolina’s Outer Banks and coast braced for flooding from storm surge and powerful winds Wednesday as Hurricane Erin churned hundreds of miles away in the Atlantic Ocean.

Hurricane Erin is marching north and is set to bring life-threatening rip currents, destructive waves, coastal flooding and possibly beach erosion to much of the East Coast. The conditions will last through Thursday before improving later on Friday and into Saturday.