Tropical Storm Erin intensifies to a powerful Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic, with visual maps illustrating its projected path and forthcoming developments.
In the Atlantic Ocean, Hurricane Erin, the first major hurricane of the 2025 season, rapidly intensified to a Category 5 storm with peak sustained winds reaching 160 mph northeast of Puerto Rico around August 16. The storm did not make landfall but passed near several Caribbean islands, including Puerto Rico, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and the Bahamas, bringing heavy rain, strong winds, and dangerous sea conditions to those areas.
Erin formed as a tropical storm on Monday west of the island nation of Cabo Verde. The forecasted path of Erin showed it moving in the Atlantic between Bermuda and the U.S. East Coast from August 19 to 21, remaining mostly offshore and skirting the Caribbean islands. A high-pressure system combined with a cold front was expected to steer Erin away from the U.S. coast, pushing it northeastward into the open Atlantic.
The hurricane center predicted gradual weakening as Erin moved north, becoming post-tropical by Saturday, August 23, and passing south of Atlantic Canada thereafter. Despite not making landfall, Erin's large size meant hurricane-force winds extended up to 105 miles from its center and tropical storm-force winds up to 320 miles, creating dangerous swell and storm surge threats, particularly for the Outer Banks and coastal areas along the U.S. Eastern Seaboard.
The Caribbean islands experienced indirect impacts such as heavy rain and strong winds due to the storm’s proximity but avoided a direct hit. The storm's center passed 145 miles north of Puerto Rico, leading the National Park Service to announce that sites on the island of St. Croix would be closed starting late Friday afternoon until after the storm passes.
As of 5 p.m. Saturday, Hurricane Erin was located about 135 miles northwest of Anguilla, moving west at 15 mph. The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, forecast an above-normal season for the Atlantic this year, predicting between two and five major hurricanes. Forecasters with NOAA anticipated that between five and nine of the storms this year could become hurricanes.
Tropical Storm Chantal is the only named storm to have made landfall in the U.S. this year. Hurricane Erin is the fifth named storm of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season. Hurricanes are rated on a scale based on their wind speeds, ranging from Category 1, the weakest, to Category 5, the most severe rating.
As Erin moves away from the Caribbean and the U.S. East Coast, its impacts will continue to be felt, particularly in the form of hazardous sea conditions extending from Florida to New England. However, the storm's main threat remains offshore. Meanwhile, tropical storm watches have been issued for St. Martin, St. Barts, St. Maarten, and the Turks and Caicos Islands as subsequent tropical storms like Fernand are forecast to stay farther east and cause much less impact compared to Erin.
Breaking news: Hurricane Erin, the fifth named storm of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season, is moving west, still posing a threat with hazardous sea conditions, particularly from Florida to New England. Meanwhile, a tropical storm watch has been issued for various islands, including St. Martin, St. Barts, St. Maarten, and the Turks and Caicos Islands, as subsequent storms like Fernand may bring less impact compared to Erin.
News reports also indicate that the Caribbean islands experienced indirect impacts such as heavy rain and strong winds due to Hurricane Erin's proximity, while weather conditions in other parts of the world remain unaffected.
