According to a post to X from Michael Lowry, a hurricane specialist for a south Florida news station, Erin is the fifth Category 5 storm on “record to form this early in the hurricane season and the only Category 5 observed outside the Gulf or Caribbean this early in the year.”

Hurricane Erin has restrengthened to a Category 4 storm as it turns northwest and is expected to remain east of the U.S., according to the National Hurricane Center.

Hurricane Erin lashes Bahamas and Turks and Caicos with winds, rain, and flooding as forecasters track a new Atlantic tropical threat.

While Erin is expected to take a northward turn in the Atlantic, a new system off the coast of Africa has the National Hurricane Center's attention.

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.

Hurricane Erin is forecast to remain well offshore but still bring hazardous currents and possible erosion like previous offshore hurricanes before it.

Hurricane Erin strengthened into a powerful Category 4 storm Saturday in the Caribbean , where it threatened to dump flooding rains as it continued to grow larger and stronger, the National Hurricane Center said.