Storms that ramp up so quickly complicate forecasting and make it harder for government agencies to plan for emergencies. Hurricane Erick, a Pacific storm that made landfall June 19 in Oaxaca, Mexico, also strengthened rapidly, doubling in intensity in less than a day.

Hurricane Erin is likely to restrengthen again as it passes east of the Turks and Caicos Islands and the southeast Bahamas on Monday after lashing the Caribbean with damaging winds and flooding

A video shared from San Juan, Puerto Rico, shows the city starting to feel the effects of Hurricane Erin on Saturday, Aug. 16.

Hurricane Erin has been downgraded to a Category 3 hurricane but is gaining in size and raising the risk of life-threatening surf later this week along the U.S.

U.S. shores are unlikely to see a direct hit, but a strong offshore hurricane can produce massive and dangerous waves well away from its center.

Hurricane Erin was downgraded to Category 3 early morning on Sunday, Aug. 17, per the National Hurricane Center. However, the tropical storm is still expected to bring 'life-threatening' conditions to the beaches along much of the east coast of the U.

As of 5:00 p.m. AST on Sunday, Erin’s center was positioned approximately 275 miles northwest of San Juan, Puerto Rico, tracking west-northwest at 13 mph. Although no longer directly affecting the area, the storm’s outer bands are still delivering heavy rainfall, dangerous marine conditions, and life-threatening surf along coastal areas.

Hurricane Erin has exploded into a Category 5 hurricane in the Caribbean, according to the National Hurricane Center. The storm is currently north of Anguilla, with winds of 160 mph.

As of 11 AM AST Sunday, the National Hurricane Center reported that Erin’s center was located about 200 miles northwest of San Juan, Puerto Rico, and 240 miles east of Grand Turk Island. The hurricane is packing maximum sustained winds of 125 mph, making it a Category 3 storm. Its minimum central pressure is estimated at 946 millibars.

But Erin is expected to remain a powerful and dangerous storm, and it has already prompted a mandatory evacuation in North Carolina. The first hurricane of 2025 in the Atlantic continued to track north of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands on Sunday evening, hitting those islands with heavy rain and gusty winds.

While the category 4 storm is not expected to make landfall on the U.S. east coast, it will have an impact nonetheless. Dangerous high surf and rip currents are expected from Florida to New England throughout the week.