Erin has become the first hurricane of the Atlantic season with strong waves and rip currents possible along the East Coast of the United States as early as next week.

The first Atlantic hurricane of the season is forecast to bring heavy rain and life-threatening surf and rip currents to the U.S. East Coast this week.

But Erin is expected to remain a powerful and dangerous storm, and it has already prompted a mandatory evacuation in North Carolina. The first hurricane of 2025 in the Atlantic continued to track north of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands on Sunday evening, hitting those islands with heavy rain and gusty winds.

Powerful Hurricane Erin has undergone a period of astonishingly rapid intensification — a phenomenon that has become far more common in recent years as the planet warms. It was a rare Category 5 for a time Saturday before becoming a Category 4, churning through the Atlantic Ocean north of the Caribbean.

Hurricane Erin could be near the southeast portion of Florida by Monday, Aug. 18 at 8 p.m. ET. This forecast track shows the most likely path of the center of the storm. It does not illustrate the full width of the storm or its impacts, and the center of the storm is likely to travel outside the cone up to 33% of the time.

Tropical Storm Erin is expected to strengthen into a powerful hurricane and could bring heavy rain, damaging winds and dangerous surf to the Leeward Islands and Puerto Rico this weekend. AccuWeather meteorologists say a turn toward the west-northwest is likely before Erin reaches the islands.

Erin, the first hurricane of the season, is now a powerful Category 5 hurricane. Here's where it could head in the week ahead.

The National Hurricane Center expects Hurricane Erin to pass just north of the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico this weekend, bringing the potential for flooding, hazardous seas, and tropical storm-force wind gusts as outer rainbands sweep across the region.