SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (BN24) — Hurricane Erin rapidly intensified into a powerful storm over the Atlantic, lashing northern Caribbean islands with heavy rain and damaging winds on Saturday, though forecasters said it was not expected to make landfall.
Erin became the first Atlantic hurricane of 2025 and quickly grew from a tropical storm into a Category 5 system before weakening slightly to Category 4, with sustained winds of 140 mph (220 kph), according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. The storm’s center was located about 145 miles (230 kilometers) north-northeast of San Juan, Puerto Rico, moving west-northwest at 14 mph (22 kph).
Despite its track staying offshore, Erin’s outer bands battered Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, cutting power to about 130,000 customers and prompting warnings of flash floods, mudslides and landslides. Tropical storm watches were issued for St. Martin, St. Barts and the Turks and Caicos Islands.
National Hurricane Center Director Mike Brennan said Erin’s explosive growth was “very powerful,” with its winds intensifying by 60 mph (96 kph) in just nine hours. Meteorologists called its speed of strengthening “incredible,” with only a handful of hurricanes in history reaching Category 5 before mid-August.
Emergency officials readied shelters in Puerto Rico, the Bahamas and along the U.S. East Coast, where forecasters warned dangerous rip currents could develop next week even as Erin remains offshore.
Scientists have linked rapid intensification of hurricanes to climate change, citing record-warm waters and higher atmospheric moisture. Erin is the fifth named storm of what experts predict will be an unusually active Atlantic hurricane season, with as many as 10 hurricanes expected, three to five of them major.
