Hurricane Erin exploded in strength to a Category 5 storm in the Caribbean on Saturday, rapidly powering up from a tropical storm in a single day, the National Hurricane Center said.

Currently, it is not affecting any land masses, but the NHC said the northern Leeward Islands, Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico should monitor the storm.

The first Atlantic hurricane of 2025, Erin reached Category 5 status before weakening somewhat and becoming a Category 4 storm, with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph (220 kph)

Tropical Storm Erin formed in the eastern Atlantic Ocean on Monday, forecasters said. The storm could strengthen to become the Atlantic's first hurricane of the season.

Erin is within a day of becoming the first Atlantic hurricane of the 2025 season. It does not pose an immediate threat to Louisiana.

According to the NHC’s forecast track, the center of Erin is likely to move near or just north of the northern Leeward Islands over the weekend.

Officials in the northern Caribbean are warning of heavy rains and dangerous swells as Tropical Storm Erin approaches the region.

Tropical Storm Erin is on the cusp of strengthening into a hurricane, which it is expected to become later this Friday, as it bears down on the northern Caribbean islands.

The National Hurricane Center said the storm has winds of 50 miles per hour, and is expected to become a major hurricane by the weekend.

Tropical Storm Erin formed Monday in the eastern tropical Atlantic Ocean and could become the first hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic season later this week, forecasters say. In the Pacific Ocean, Hurricane Henriette strengthened well away from Hawaii.

Erin is the fifth named storm to develop during the Atlantic hurricane season, which started just over two months ago. Last week, Tropical Storm Dexter formed in the western Atlantic but didn't pose a threat to land. In early July, Tropical Storm Chantal made landfall on the Carolina coast, bringing deadly flooding to the region.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Tropical Storm Erin is churning in the Atlantic Ocean and moving toward the Caribbean, likely to become the season’s first hurricane, a storm with sustained winds above 74 miles per hour.