Hurricane Erin exploded in strength and became a major storm in Atlantic waters just north of the Caribbean on Saturday, rapidly powering up from a tropical storm in a single day. The first Atlantic hurricane of 2025,

Erin became the first hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic season on Friday and was expected to continue strengthening, forecasters said.

Tropical Storm Erin is on the cusp of strengthening into a hurricane, which it is expected to become later this Friday, as it bears down on the northern Caribbean islands.

Hurricane Erin rapidly intensified Saturday, becoming the first Category 5 hurricane of the Atlantic season after strengthening from a tropical storm in just 24 hours. The National Hurricane Center reported that Erin's maximum sustained winds more than doubled to 160 mph (255 kph) by late Saturday morning.

Officials in the northern Caribbean are warning of heavy rains and dangerous swells as Tropical Storm Erin approaches the region.

Hurricane Erin formed in the Atlantic Aug. 15 and rapidly strengthened to a catastrophic Category 5 storm with 160 mph winds on Saturday, Aug. 16, according to the latest advisory from the National Hurricane Center.

According to the NHC’s forecast track, the center of Erin is likely to move near or just north of the northern Leeward Islands over the weekend.

With the perfect conditions for rapid intensification, Hurricane Erin became a Category 5 storm overnight, triggering warnings of potential flooding and landslides in northern Leeward Islands, Virgin Islands,

Erin is the fifth named storm to develop during the Atlantic hurricane season, which started just over two months ago. Last week, Tropical Storm Dexter formed in the western Atlantic but didn't pose a threat to land. In early July, Tropical Storm Chantal made landfall on the Carolina coast, bringing deadly flooding to the region.

Tropical Storm Erin formed in the eastern Atlantic Ocean on Monday, forecasters said. The storm could strengthen to become the Atlantic's first hurricane of the season.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Tropical Storm Erin is churning in the Atlantic Ocean and moving toward the Caribbean, likely to become the season’s first hurricane, a storm with sustained winds above 74 miles per hour.