SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico: Hurricane Erin has exploded into a Category 5 storm in the Caribbean, rapidly intensifying from a tropical storm within just 24 hours, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said on Saturday.
In a statement, the NHC confirmed Erin’s maximum sustained winds had surged to 160 mph (257 kph) by late Saturday morning, up from 100 mph (160 kph) only nine hours earlier.
The hurricane was located about 105 miles (170 km) north of Anguilla, moving west at 17 mph (28 kph).
“This is a very powerful hurricane. We expect Erin to peak in intensity relatively soon,” NHC director Mike Brennan said in an online briefing.
The storm’s centre is forecast to remain offshore, passing north of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, but it is close enough to trigger heavy rain, flash flooding, and landslides.
Tropical storm watches have been issued for St. Martin, St. Barts, and St. Maarten, while tropical-storm force winds are also possible in the Turks and Caicos Islands and southeast Bahamas.
According to the NHC, Erin currently has hurricane-force winds extending 30 miles (45 km) from its core but is expected to double or even triple in size in the coming days.
That expansion could generate powerful rip currents along parts of the US east coast, with protruding areas such as North Carolina’s Outer Banks, Long Island, and Cape Cod facing a higher risk of direct impacts, forecasters at AccuWeather warned.
Scientists say the storm’s explosive growth reflects a wider trend of rapid hurricane intensification linked to climate change, the Associated Press reported.
Rising sea temperatures and greater atmospheric moisture are fuelling more powerful and faster-strengthening storms, complicating forecasts and emergency planning.
The 2025 Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June to November, is predicted to be unusually active.
Forecasts project six to ten hurricanes, with three to five expected to reach major status of at least Category 3 strength. Erin is the first hurricane of the season and the fifth named storm overall.
Authorities in Puerto Rico have already activated precautionary measures. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has deployed more than 200 staff, while local officials have inspected 367 potential shelters.
The US Coast Guard said it had closed six seaports in Puerto Rico and two in the US Virgin Islands to incoming vessels without prior clearance.
In the Bahamas, disaster management officials urged residents to closely monitor Erin’s path, noting that the storm could shift unexpectedly.
“These storms are very volatile and can make sudden shifts in movement,” said Aarone Sargent, managing director of the Bahamas’ disaster risk management authority.
