Evacuation orders were issued in North Carolina Tuesday as Hurricane Erin continued to swirl upward across the Atlantic Ocean and two disturbances followed behind it.

While Erin was downgraded to a Category 2 hurricane Tuesday morning, the storm is expected to continue growing in size, with its "considerably larger than average" wind fields nearing the North Carolina coast, forecasters with the National Hurricane Center in Miami said at 7 a.m. Tropical storm and storm surge conditions are possible there beginning Wednesday.

A tropical storm watch was issued for the central Bahamas and the North Carolina coast between Beaufort Inlet and Duck, including Pamlico Sound. A storm surge watch is also in effect from Beaufort Inlet to Duck.

Evacuation orders were issued for North Carolina's O

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