Hurricane Erin regained Category 4 strength Sunday night as its outer bands pounded the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico with gusty winds and heavy rains.

Hurricane Erin is forecast to remain well offshore but still bring hazardous currents and possible erosion like previous offshore hurricanes before it.

Powerful Hurricane Erin has undergone a period of astonishingly rapid intensification — a phenomenon that has become far more common in recent years as the planet warms. It was a rare Category 5 for a time Saturday before becoming a Category 4,

Erin has become the first hurricane of the Atlantic season with strong waves and rip currents possible along the East Coast of the United States as early as next week.

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.

The NHC said it currently expected Erin to become a Category 4 storm later Saturday but to eventually swerve away from the continental United States.

Hurricane Erin restrengthened into a Category 4 storm late Sunday, with forecasters warning it is expected to intensify and grow in size in the coming days as it lashes Caribbean

Spaghetti models predict Erin will skirt the U.S. East Coast by hundreds of miles as it moves north through next week.

(Reuters) -Hurricane Erin has re-intensified into a category 4 storm on Sunday after completing an eyewall replacement cycle, with the U.S. National Hurricane Center warning of life-threatening surf and rip currents along the U.