Erin expected to become a Category 5 hurricane, NHC says

The storm is currently 235 miles (375 km) east-northeast of San Juan, Puerto Rico, with maximum sustained winds of 155 mph (250 kph).

Hurricane Erin, which is the first hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic season and has developed into a dangerous Category 4 hurricane, moves westward near Puerto Rico in a composite satellite image August 16, 2025. / CIRA/NOAA/Handout via REUTERS

Hurricane Erin, the first hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic season, has become a catastrophic Category 5 hurricane, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said on Aug. 16.

The storm is currently 105 miles (170 km) north of Anguilla, with maximum sustained winds near 160 mph (255 km/h).

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The NHC said on Aug. 15 that Erin is expected to strengthen over the southwestern Atlantic through the weekend and into next week.

Swells generated by Erin will affect portions of the northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, and the Turks and Caicos Islands through the weekend, the NHC said earlier on Aug. 16.

The swells will spread to the Bahamas, Bermuda and the East Coast of the United States early next week, it said.

Erin has also raised concerns about another unforeseen risk - wildfires. Andrew Siffert, a senior meteorologist at BMS Group, noted that if Erin evolves into a large, intense extratropical cyclone offshore, a dangerous alignment could occur - critically dry fuels across the region, strong and dry winds driven by Erin’s pressure gradient and human ignition sources.

ILS investment manager Twelve Securis said on Aug. 15 that Erin is forecast to remain far enough offshore to spare the U.S. East Coast from significant impacts.

The storm is projected to pass north of the northern Caribbean Leeward Islands before turning north between the U.S. East Coast and Bermuda around Aug. 18.

Erin is expected to produce areas of heavy rainfall through Aug. 17 across the northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, the NHC said.

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