Hurricane Erin on Monday bulked back up as a major Category 4 storm with an increasing wind field as it moved near the Bahamas. Meanwhile, the National Hurricane Center increased the odds a system

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 maintaining its strength as a major hurricane, churning in the Atlantic Ocean and delivering tropical storm force winds to Turks and Caicos and parts of the Bahamas. Erin’s influence will be increasingly felt along the tri-state area’s coastline during the latter half of the week.

The center of Hurricane Erin is expected to remain offshore, but forecasters expect eastern North Carolina to see coastal flooding, tropical-storm-force winds, overwash and beach erosion.

While Erin is expected to take a northward turn in the Atlantic, a new system off the coast of Africa has the National Hurricane Center's attention.

The storm will remain a major hurricane through the middle of the week, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Erin was a Category 3 hurricane Sunday, the National Hurricane Center said in its 11 a.m. ET update, with sustained winds of 125 mph, with tropical storm-force winds reaching out 205 miles. The storm is expected to continue to fluctuate in intensity,

Erin, the first hurricane of the season, exploded to a Category 5 hurricane Saturday, and despite fluctuations in intensity, the storm is remaining formidable this weekend. Here's where it could head in the week ahead.