Hurricane Erin is a rapidly intensifying and large Category 4 hurricane currently active in the Atlantic Ocean. As the fifth named storm and the first major hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season, Erin developed from a tropical wave near Cape Verde on August 11. After gradually strengthening over the central Atlantic, it became a hurricane on August 15 and rapidly intensified to Category 5 on August 16, reaching peak sustained winds of 160 mph and a minimum pressure of 915 mb.
The storm underwent an eyewall replacement cycle, which slightly weakened it to Category 4 intensity. Hurricane-force winds extend up to 50 miles from the center, with tropical storm-force winds reaching 230 miles.
Erin's path is projected to take it northwards, passing just east of the southeastern Bahamas, moving between Bermuda and the U.S. East Coast by midweek. Although no direct landfall in the U.S. is forecasted, Erin will bring dangerous surf, high waves reaching 8 to 12 feet in some areas, and life-threatening rip currents along the coasts from northern Florida up to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, New Jersey, and Long Island.
Authorities have issued tropical storm warnings for the Turks and Caicos Islands, parts of the Bahamas, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Several evacuations and preparations are underway, including mandatory evacuations for Dare County’s Hurricane Evacuation Zone A in North Carolina’s Outer Banks.
Erin’s precursor caused flooding and fatalities in Cape Verde, marking the storm as one of the strongest and fastest intensifying Atlantic hurricanes on record. Residents along the affected coastlines are urged to exercise caution and heed official advice.
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