Official of Dare County has ordered a mandatory evacuation for residents and visitors on Hatteras Island after the National Weather Service (NWS) issued a hurricane warning for part of North Carolina's coast on Wednesday.

A tropical storm watch was immediately put in place for parts of South Carolina and Florida after the NWS raised the hurricane warning last Wednesday for Surf City, North Carolina north to Duck, possibly affecting the 4^th of July celebrations in those areas and neighboring cities.

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Tropical Storm Arthur is expected to become a hurricane by Thursday (US Time) after Wednesday's reading showed its maximum sustained winds were around 70 miles per hour, the US National Hurricane Center said.

The Center predicts Arthur will be a Category 1 hurricane with winds up to 85 miles per hour. It is expected to pass through the Outer Banks on Independence Day.

The storm was located at about 430 miles south-southeast of North Carolina's Cape Hatteras Wednesday evening, the NWS said.

Officials in North Carolina's Outer Banks were rushing to prepare for Arthur now that the area storm warning has been raised to a hurricane watch. The hurricane, scheduled to hit North Carolina's Outer, is also expected to spoil the Fourth of July celebration especially in the popular getaway spot.

Weather forecasts said the Outer Banks will be especially vulnerable and as the mandatory evacuation was announced, stream of cars and other vehicles were seen rolling out of Hatteras Island.

Tourism officials are closely monitoring Arthur as about 250,000 people are expected to be in Outer banks for the long holiday weekend, staying in hotels and rental homes.

Outer Banks Visitors Bureau Executive Director Lee Nettles said that while the bureau is not overly concerned at this time, everybody should be prepared for Arthur.

TagsHurricane Arthur, Storm Arthur