Several days of heavy surf and high winds and waves could wash out parts of NC 12, which connects the popular vacation spot to the mainland, the National Weather Service said.

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.

See the historic Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, the tallest lighthouse in the U.S. Plan your visit for the fall, when the temperatures are still mild and the summer tourists have left. “There are things we just don't have here,