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

On Hurricane Erin is crawling past the Bahamas as a strong Category 2 storm and is due to head toward the Carolinas and then veer northeast over the open Atlantic Ocean. Although the storm’s eye may never come within 300 miles of the mainland U.

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.