Hurricane Erin, the first major hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season, rapidly intensified Friday night, with the storm now reaching Category 5 strength with sustained winds of 160 mph.

Additional strengthening is expected as the storm is forecast to “remain a large and dangerous major hurricane through the middle of this week,” the National Hurricane Center said.

MIAMI (AP) — A stronger and bigger Hurricane Erin pelted parts of the Caribbean and was forecast to create dangerous surf and rip currents along the U.S. East Coast this week.

While the category 4 storm is not expected to make landfall on the U.S. east coast, it will have an impact nonetheless. Dangerous high surf and rip currents are expected from Florida to New England throughout the week.

Most of Erin’s intensification occurred during a 12- to 15-hour window overnight, according to Dan Pydynowski, a meteorologist at AccuWeather. By 5 p.m. Friday, Erin’s winds had remained only 75 mph.

Erin is currently not forecast to hit land, but strong winds and heavy rain are expected in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.