Hurricane Erin Rapidly Intensifies: Category 3 Threat Looms for Weekend, Leeward Islands Under Watch
Hurricane Erin Rapidly Intensifies: Category 3 Threat Looms for Weekend, Leeward Islands Under Watch
Hurricane Erin, the first named hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic season, officially formed on Friday, August 15th, and is now forecast to rapidly strengthen into a major Category 3 storm over the upcoming weekend. Tropical Storm Watches remain active for parts of the northern Leeward Islands as the powerful system tracks westward.
As of Friday 5 p.m. ET, Hurricane Erin was located 365 miles east of the northern Leeward Islands, packing maximum sustained winds of 75 mph and moving west-northwest at 17 mph. Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center (NHC) anticipate Erin’s center will pass just north of the northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico through Sunday.
Islands in the path should prepare for significant rainfall, with totals expected to range from 2 to 4 inches, and isolated areas potentially seeing up to 6 inches. This could trigger flash flooding, urban flooding, and dangerous mudslides or landslides. Tropical storm conditions are possible in the watch areas, including Anguilla, Barbuda, St. Martin, St. Barthelemy, Saba, St. Eustatius, and Sint Maarten, by early Saturday.
While uncertainties remain, the NHC indicates that the direct impact on the U.S. East Coast, the Bahamas, and Bermuda appears to be gradually decreasing. However, Erin is expected to become a large and powerful hurricane over the southwestern Atlantic Ocean as it intensifies over the next two to three days.
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