Hurricane Erin rapidly strengthens to Category 5 storm
Hurricane Erin - the first of the 2025 Atlantic season - has raced from maximum sustained winds of 100mph (160kph) to 160mph (255kph).
It gained power as it began moving westward past the Leeward Islands - which include Anguilla, Guadaloupe, and the Virgin Islands - on Saturday.
While the hurricane is not forecast to make landfall, it is expected to "produce life-threatening surf and rip currents" as it turns northward next week, the US National Hurricane Centre said.
Beaches in the Bahamas, much of the east coast of the United States and even Atlantic Canada will be affected, it added.
Protruding US coastal areas - such as Long Island, New York and Cape Cod - face a higher risk of direct and potentially severe tropical storm or hurricane conditions, AccuWeather said.
1:01
The hurricane's impact is already being felt on multiple islands. Tropical storm watches have been issued for some Caribbean islands, including St Barts and St Maarten.
The National Hurricane Centre has warned heavy rain could cause flash flooding, landslides and mudslides, saying Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands could be affected on Sunday.
The US government deployed more than 200 workers, including employees from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to Puerto Rico as a precaution when a flood watch for the territory was issued earlier this week.
With hurricane-force winds extending 30 miles from its centre, Erin is considered compact in size. But it is expected to grow up to double, or even triple, its current size in the coming days.
Storms that ramp up so quickly complicate forecasting and make it harder for government agencies to plan for emergencies.
Scientists have linked the rapid intensification of hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean to climate change, as global warming is causing the atmosphere to hold more water vapour and spiking ocean temperatures.
The warmer waters give hurricanes fuel to strengthen quickly and unleash more rain.
Erin is the fifth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which began on 1 June and runs until 30 November. It is the first to become a hurricane.
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Reuters
11 hours ago
- Reuters
Erin downgraded to Category 3 hurricane, NHC says
Aug 17 (Reuters) - Erin, the first hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic season, has been downgraded to Category 3, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said early on Sunday, as the storm's wind speed eased slightly. The hurricane was about 330 miles (530 km) east-southeast of Grand Turk Island packing maximum sustained winds of 125 mph (205 kph). It had been gauged as high as a catastrophic Category 5 with maximum sustained winds of 160 mph (240 kph), then downgraded to a Category 4. It had earlier been forecast to strengthen into this week. The meteorological services of France and the Netherlands discontinued tropical storm watches for St. Martin, St. Barthelemy and Sint Maarten, the NHC said. On Sunday, Erin was moving west-northwest at nearly 14 mph (22 kph) with a decrease in forward speed expected on Sunday and a turn to the north on Monday and Tuesday, the NHC said. Erin was forecast to pass to the east of the Turks and Caicos islands and the southeastern Bahamas on Sunday night and Monday. Swells generated by Erin will continue to affect parts of the northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola and the Turks and Caicos Islands for the next couple of days, the NHC said. These swells will spread to the Bahamas, Bermuda, the east coast of the United States, and Atlantic Canada during the early and middle portions of the week. Rough ocean conditions will likely cause life-threatening surf and rip currents, the NHC said. The Bahamas, which provides some meteorological services for the Turks and Caicos Islands, issued a Tropical Storm Watch for the British islands to its southeast. Erin has also raised concerns about wildfire risks if human-caused sparks ignite parched vegetation and strong dry winds fan the flames. BMS Group Senior Meteorologist Andrew Siffert said these conditions could arise if Erin grows into a powerful offshore storm fueled by colliding warm and cold air rather than tropical seas. Insurance-linked securities manager Twelve Securis said on Friday that Erin was forecast to remain far enough offshore to spare the U.S. East Coast from significant impacts.
Sky News
13 hours ago
- Sky News
Hurricane Erin reaches wind speeds of up to 160mph near Caribbean
A hurricane making its way past the Caribbean Sea has quickly turned into a major storm, after rapidly strengthening in just 24 hours. Hurricane Erin - the first of the 2025 Atlantic season - raced from maximum sustained winds of 100mph (160kph) to heights of 160mph (255kph), before weakening slightly to 140mph (220kph). This means it has gone from a Category 5 to a Category 4 storm, which still carries a warning of potential "catastrophic damage", according to the US National Hurricane Centre (NHC). Erin gained power as it began moving westward past the Leeward Islands - which include Anguilla, Guadaloupe, and the Virgin Islands - on Saturday. Later in the evening, the centre reported that the storm was "undergoing structural changes" but was still "formidable" as its rain and winds buffeted Puerto Rico. While the hurricane is not forecast to make landfall, it is expected to "produce life-threatening surf and rip currents" as it turns northward next week. Beaches in the Bahamas, much of the east coast of the United States and even Atlantic Canada will be affected, the NHC said. 1:01 Protruding US coastal areas - such as Long Island, New York and Cape Cod - face a higher risk of potentially severe tropical storm or hurricane conditions, AccuWeather has said. The hurricane's impact is already being felt on multiple islands, with tropical storm watches issued for some Caribbean islands, including St Barts and St Maarten. The NHC has warned heavy rain could cause flash flooding, landslides and mudslides, saying Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands could be affected on Sunday. The US government deployed more than 200 workers, including employees from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to Puerto Rico as a precaution when a flood watch for the territory was issued earlier this week. With hurricane-force winds extending 30 miles from its centre, Erin is considered compact in size. It should begin to slowly weaken on Monday but will remain a major hurricane until late next week, the NHC said. Storms that ramp up so quickly complicate forecasting and make it harder for government agencies to plan for emergencies. Scientists have linked the rapid intensification of hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean to climate change, as global warming is causing the atmosphere to hold more water vapour and spiking ocean temperatures. The warmer waters give hurricanes fuel to strengthen quickly and unleash more rain. Erin is the fifth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which began on 1 June and runs until 30 November. It is the first to become a hurricane.
Daily Mirror
13 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
UK weather: Exactly when Britain will be hotter than Ibiza with major 31C heat blast forecast
Weather maps show when the UK is set for more scorching conditions where temperatures could hit the 30Cs again after the current heatwave and sun lovers won't have to wait too long Brits are set for more scorching temperatures ahead with weather maps turning red and it is set to be hotter than the holiday island of Ibiza. The UK is currently enjoying its fourth heatwave of the year with temperatures have soared above 30C again in parts of the country. In unusually hot conditions the warmest day so far was recorded in Faversham, Kent, where it reached 35.8C last month and the outlook is for more heat in the week leading up to the end of the month. A map from Ventusky shows temperatures remain warm but drop to the low 20Cs and high teens for much of the country in the second half of this coming week. But they will begin to climb again the week after, spiking on August 26, with a map mid-afternoon showing a high of 31C in the southeast of England compared to the high 20Cs in Ibiza. Many Brits have headed over to Spain this month during the school holidays but for those who have stayed behind they are having no shortage of sunshine. After the current heatwave peters out, the mercury is set to rise again on Sunday, August 24, where there will be widespread temperatures in the high 20Cs for England while in England it will be cooler in the mid to high teens. The UK will be influenced by a high pressure system over the Continent but a front bringing unsettled weather starts to come in from the Atlantic meaning that for August 25 and 26 it remains hot in the south east but temperatures will cool elsewhere dropping down to the low teens in the west of Wales and northern Scotland. And the outlook from the Met Office from August 21-30 highlights the dry weather at the start but then it says a low pressure will sweep in, linked to Tropical Storm Erin. It states: 'High pressure is likely to be the dominant feature at first, initially centred near to Iceland, allowing a north to northeasterly airstream to affect much of the UK, leading to rather cool conditions. High pressure is likely to progress SE across the UK for a time, bringing widely fine and dry conditions and for some, an increase in temperatures, relative to the previous few days. "Whilst this is happening a deep area of low pressure is likely to develop in the North Atlantic, linked to Tropical Storm Erin. The final week of August may see Atlantic weather systems progress over the UK, especially in the north and west, with a small chance of widely wetter and windier weather developing. The evolution of this is highly uncertain though.'
