A powerful and sprawling Hurricane Erin continued lashing hundreds of miles of coastline along the Eastern Seaboard with its outer bands Thursday morning, proving a storm of such size doesn't need to make landfall to bring widespread impacts.

Officials are urging visitors to begin evacuating at 10 a.m. Monday from Hurricane Evacuation Zone A, which includes the unincorporated villages of Rodanthe, Waves, Salvo, Avon, Buxton, Frisco and Hatteras. Residents are to begin evacuating at 8 a.m. Tuesday.

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

North Carolina expects coastal flooding from massive waves, tropical-storm-force winds and tidal and storm surges for much of the state shoreline, especially the Outer Banks, as well as life-threatening rip currents for most of the week, Stein said, adding, "No one should be in the ocean."

Hurricane Erin is moving closer to the U.S. coast at the start of the workweek. Strong wind and big waves will cause problems for our North Carolina beaches as summer vacations continue.

Hurricane Erin moves offshore but still threatens East Coast with dangerous surf, rip currents, and tropical winds. Follow Newsweek's live blog.

Tropical storm warnings remain in effect for the North Carolina coast. The storm will move northeast as it heads out to sea and away from land.

A massive Hurricane Erin churns off the East Coast, bringing dangerous waves to vulnerable areas along the North Carolina coast. Here's the latest.