What started out as a tropical storm early Friday morning gained strength rapidly, strengthening into Hurricane Erin midway through the morning as it pounded towards Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. The swift strengthening of the storm raised immediate fears of widespread rain, flash flooding, and landslides throughout the north-east Caribbean.
By the afternoon of Friday, Erin the initial hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic season had moved west-northwest at 18 mph (29 km/h) with sustained winds of 75 mph (121 km/h), making it a Category 1 hurricane. Meteorologists say that by Sunday morning, Erin may intensify to a major Category 3 hurricane, with private forecasts projecting a potential even more intense Category 4 system.
The National Hurricane Center in Miami said Erin was hundreds of miles east of the northern Leeward Islands on Friday, with winds already stronger than predicted. Storm watches were issued for Anguilla, Barbuda, St. Martin, St. Barts, Saba, St. Eustatius, and St. Maarten.
The NHC forecasted between 4 inches (10 cm) of rain in the impacted areas, with individual isolated places potentially getting 6 inches. The deluge will be accompanied by perilous swells and hostile seas.
Private forecaster AccuWeather provided a more ominous forecast. "Erin is projected to intensify explosively into a strong category 4 hurricane as it tracks over very warm ocean waters in the open Atlantic," said Alex DaSilva, AccuWeather's top hurricane expert. Surface and subsurface ocean temperatures are several degrees higher than they have ever been before, creating ideal conditions for a monster storm to intensify quickly.
While the current path of the storm menaces portions of the Caribbean, meteorologists expect Erin ultimately to make a sharp turn northeast, pushing it between the US East Coast and Bermuda. "Next week's models keep the storm well to the east of the US mainland," hurricane expert Michael Lowry explained to the Associated Press, "but it still will pose potentially hazardous conditions off the coast.".
AccuWeather forecasts hazardous surf and rip currents will hit the US East Coast next week, with wave highs potentially increasing to 15 feet along portions of North Carolina. The Bahamas, Bermuda, and areas of the eastern United States continue under monitor for possible extended-range effects.
Erin's roots date back to a cluster of showers and thunderstorms that developed off the coast of Africa last week. The system intensified into a tropical storm near the Cabo Verde Islands, where it dumped as much as 8 inches of rain in five hours. Heavy flooding in Cape Verde killed at least six people and left several missing, Televisao Africa reports.
As Erin currently ravages the Caribbean, residents are advised to be ready for deteriorating conditions over the weekend. The NHC warns that flooding and landslides, along with extreme coastal effects, are still possible in affected areas before Erin makes a turn into the open waters of the Atlantic.
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