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

Hurricane Erin weakened to a Category 3 hurricane Sunday, its outer bands lashing the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, as forecasters warned the storm was rapidly growing in size and would gain new strength.

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

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.

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.