Hurricane Erin weakens to Category 3 as warnings issued on Caribbean islands
Hurricane Erin has weakened to a Category 3 hurricane, but forecasters have warned it could still present a threat to several Caribbean nations.
The hurricane rapidly grew from a Category 1 hurricane to a Category 5 one in less than 24 hours over the weekend.
It has now weakened to Category 3, but it has also grown significantly, and meteorologists have warned it could triple in size over the next few days.
Erin is the first Atlantic hurricane of 2025 and is currently making its way across the Caribbean, but is not expected to make landfall.
Several countries are still expected to suffer severe weather as a result of the disturbance it will bring.
Forecasters issued tropical storm warnings for the Turks and Caicos Islands and a watch for the southeast Bahamas, St. Martin, St. Barts and St. Maarten.
It could also bring strong weather to the US East Coast, with high tides and strong winds forecast in North Carolina.
The US National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said life-threatening surf is expected along the east coast from Monday.
Erin is expected to fluctuate in intensity over the next few days, bringing rough ocean conditions over the western Atlantic.
As of Saturday afternoon (UK time) Erin was located about 105 miles north of Anguilla, the NHC noted.
It was passing just north of the Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico this weekend while making a gradual turn toward the north.
Scientists have linked the rapid intensification of hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean to climate change.
Global warming is causing the atmosphere to hold more water vapour and is spiking ocean temperatures. The warmer waters give hurricanes fuel to unleash more rain and strengthen more quickly.
Storms that ramp up so quickly complicate forecasting for meteorologists and make it harder for government agencies to plan for emergencies.
Hurricane Erick, a Pacific storm that made landfall on June 19 in Oaxaca, Mexico, also strengthened rapidly, doubling in intensity in less than a day.
Erin is the fifth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30. It's the first to become a hurricane.
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The 2025 hurricane season is expected to be unusually busy. The forecast calls for six to 10 hurricanes, with three to five reaching major status with winds of more than 110 mph.
The US government has deployed more than 200 employees from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other agencies to Puerto Rico as a precaution, as forecasters issued a flood watch for the entire US territory from late Friday into Monday.
Puerto Rico Housing Secretary Ciary Pérez Peña said 367 shelters have been inspected and could be opened if needed.
The US Coast Guard said on Friday that it closed six seaports in Puerto Rico and two in the US Virgin Islands to all incoming vessels unless they had received prior authorisation.
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