Hurricane Erin explodes into Cat. 5 in Caribbean, threatening islands with flooding

Hurricane Erin surged to a Category 5 storm in the Caribbean on Saturday, rapidly intensifying from a tropical storm in just 24 hours, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported.

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While the compact hurricane’s center is not expected to make landfall, it poses a threat of heavy rains and flooding as it grows in size.

Mike Brennen, director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami, described Erin as a “very powerful hurricane,” noting it had raced from maximum sustained winds of 100 mph (160 kph) to 160 mph (257 kph) in just nine hours. “We expect to see Erin peak here in intensity relatively soon,” Brennan said in an online briefing.

The first Atlantic hurricane of 2025, Erin intensified from a tropical storm to Category 5 in a single day. By late Saturday morning, its maximum sustained winds had more than doubled.

At 11 a.m. Saturday, the storm was located 105 miles (170 km) north of Anguilla, moving west at 17 mph (28 kph). Forecasts indicate the storm’s center will stay at sea, passing north of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

Despite remaining offshore, Erin could still impact nearby islands. Tropical storm watches are in effect for St. Martin, St. Barts, and St. Maarten, with heavy rains potentially triggering flash flooding, landslides, and mudslides. Tropical-storm-force wind gusts are possible in the Turks and Caicos Islands and the southeastern Bahamas.

Though compact, with hurricane-force winds extending 30 miles (45 km) from its center, Erin is expected to double or even triple in size in the coming days. This expansion could create powerful rip currents along parts of the U.S. East Coast later in the week, even with the storm remaining offshore.

Protruding coastal areas such as North Carolina’s Outer Banks, Long Island, and Cape Cod, Massachusetts, face the highest risk of direct and severe tropical storm or hurricane conditions, according to AccuWeather.

Erin is the fifth named storm of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30, and the first to reach hurricane status. Forecasters predict an unusually active season, with six to ten hurricanes and three to five major storms exceeding 110 mph (177 kph).

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U.S. authorities have mobilized more than 200 Federal Emergency Management Agency personnel and other staff to Puerto Rico, where a flood watch is in effect from Friday through Monday. Puerto Rico Housing Secretary Ciary Pérez Peña said 367 shelters have been inspected and are ready to open if needed. The U.S. Coast Guard closed six seaports in Puerto Rico and two in the U.S. Virgin Islands to all incoming vessels without prior authorization.

In the Bahamas, officials have readied public shelters and urged residents to monitor the storm. “These storms are very volatile and can make sudden shifts in movement,” said Aarone Sargent, managing director of the Bahamas’ disaster risk management authority.