Hurricane Erin has been downgraded to a Category 3 hurricane but is gaining in size and raising the risk of life-threatening surf later this week along the U.S.

A disturbance in the Atlantic following Hurricane Erin is now expected to track northward, National Hurricane Center data shows.

While Erin won't hit the U.S. directly, the storm's biggest impact on the East Coast will be along the Outer Banks of North Carolina, where coastal flood watches, tropical storm watches and storm surge watches are in effect. The storm surge could be as high as 4 feet.

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.

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