Hurricane Erin, the first major hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season, rapidly intensified into an extremely dangerous Category 5 cyclone as it stayed safely north of the Caribbean islands over the weekend.
Shortly after Erin began rapid intensification into a major hurricane, Hurricane Hunters found that Erin had quickly strengthened.
The hurricane’s winds reached 160 mph, making it a Category 5 cyclone on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.
Since reaching its peak, the hurricane weakened slightly into a Category 4 while undergoing some reorganization.
Bands from the major hurricane impacted the northern Caribbean islands, where FOX Weather’s Robert Ray rode out the storm.
Rain totals of 2-4 inches are expected through Sunday, with isolated totals possibly reaching up to six inches throughout the Caribbean Islands.
“Locally considerable flash and urban flooding, along with landslides or mudslides, are possible,” the National Hurricane Center said.
Additionally, a Tropical Storm Watch has been issued for the Turks and Caicos in the southeast Bahamas, with the main core of the hurricane expected to pass off to the north and east over the next 48 hours.
Erin was designated a tropical storm on Monday, after first being an area worth further investigation known as Invest 97L. Before even becoming a named system, Invest 97L brought heavy rain to the Cabo Verde islands, causing multiple deaths and major flooding damage.
Until now, the 2025 season has produced four tropical storms – Andrea, Barry, Chantal and Dexter – but no hurricanes.
A look at what else is brewing in the tropics
In addition to Hurricane Erin, the NHC is also monitoring a region in parts of the eastern and central Atlantic development in the long term.
If cyclone development were to happen, it would likely be more than a week away and stay far away from land through most of the remaining days of the month.
The next tropical storm will be named Fernand – the sixth name of the season.
The peak of the Atlantic hurricane season occurs on Sept. 10, with the season coming to a close by the end of November
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