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.

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.

Mandatory evacuation orders are in place along the Outer Banks of North Carolina amid fears a few islands may get cut off from the main highway.