Hurricane Erin forced tourists to cut their vacations short on North Carolina’s Outer Banks even though the monster storm is expected to stay offshore after lashing part of the Caribbean with rain and wind on Monday.

Most of the tourists have left Ocracoke Island, and the surfers are watching closely as deadly rip currents lurk below the waves.

Two more tropical systems trail Hurricane Erin, which is following a projected course that brushes past the East Coast without making landfall.

By Tuesday morning, Erin had lost some strength from previous days and dropped to a Category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 110 mph (175 kph), the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.

Charlotte Fire has activated its Urban Search and Rescue team to support response efforts as Hurricane Erin approaches the North Carolina coast, deploying the team to Edenton with boats, high water vehicles,

Dangerous rip currents are expected along the U.S. East Coast as Hurricane Erin grows in size this week, the National Hurricane Center said Tuesday.

Hurricane Erin stays offshore but brings rip currents, high surf and gusty winds to East Coast beaches through Friday. Follow Newsweek's live blog.