Tropical storm alerts are in effect for parts of the Mid-Atlantic Coast...including a warning for parts of the North Carolina Coast. Tropical storm force winds (yellow) are expected to impact the Outer Banks by Thursday.

Tropical Storm Erin's path puts some homeowners at heightened risk, as the storm starts building into a hurricane tracked by meteorologists.

Hurricane Erin is a huge Category 4 storm and is expected to both grow larger and stronger today as it moves toward the west-northwest. The center of the storm is expected to remain offshore as it moves between the U.