Erin strengthens to a Category 5 hurricane, NHC says
The storm is currently 170 km north of Anguilla, with maximum sustained winds near 255 km/h.
The NHC said on Friday 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 Saturday.
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 Friday that Erin is forecast to remain far enough offshore to spare the US East Coast from significant impacts.
The storm is projected to pass north of the northern Caribbean Leeward Islands before turning north between the US East Coast and Bermuda around Monday.
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CNA
an hour ago
- CNA
Hurricane Erin douses Caribbean, menaces US coast
WASHINGTON: Hurricane Erin's massive footprint battered Caribbean islands with heavy gusts and downpours Monday (Aug 18), as it threatened rip currents and flooding along the US East Coast later this week even without a predicted landfall. The Category 3 storm strengthened dramatically over the weekend in a historic burst of intensification scientists said was fueled by human-caused climate change. It briefly peaked as a Category 5 hurricane before weakening. In its latest advisory the US National Hurricane Center said the Atlantic season's first hurricane was packing maximum sustained winds of 205km per hour while moving northwest at 12.9kmh. Erin is "unusually large", with hurricane force winds extending 128km from the centre and tropical storm winds extending 370km, the NHC said. The storm's outer bands were forecast to dump rain across Cuba and the Dominican Republic through Monday as well as the Turks and Caicos and the southeast Bahamas - where a tropical storm warning is in place - into Tuesday. These regions could receive localised totals of up to 10cm of rain, according to the NHC. The agency's deputy director, Jamie Rhome, warned Americans not to assume the hurricane won't impact them simply because its track keeps it offshore. "Nothing could be further from the truth for portions of the Mid-Atlantic, especially the Outer Banks of North Carolina," he said. On Wednesday and Thursday, waves of up to 6m, coastal flooding and storm surge "could overwash dunes and flood homes, flood roads and make some communities impassable", he said. Evacuations have been ordered for two North Carolina islands, Ocracoke and Hatteras. From Tuesday, much of the East Coast will face a high risk of life-threatening surf and rip currents, which occur when channels of water surge away from the shore. In Puerto Rico, a US territory of more than three million people, weekend flooding swamped homes and roads in the island's east, and widespread power outages left residents in the dark, though nearly all service has since been restored. CLIMATE LINK "Erin is one of the fastest, most intensifying storms in the modern record," Daniel Gilford, a climate scientist at the nonprofit Climate Central, told AFP. "We see that it has intensified over these warm surface temperatures - and this makes a lot of sense, because we know that hurricanes act like heat engines taking up energy from the ocean surface, converting that energy into winds." According to Climate Central, Erin travelled over waters whose extreme warmth was made up to 100 times more likely through climate change. The Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from Jun 1 to Nov 30, has now entered its historical peak. Despite a relatively quiet start with just four named storms so far, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) continues to forecast an "above-normal" season. A typical season produces 14 named storms, of which seven become hurricanes and three strengthen into major hurricanes. This year, tropical activity is expected to be elevated by a combination of warmer-than-average sea-surface temperatures in the tropical Atlantic and Caribbean, along with an active West African monsoon, NOAA said. Scientists broadly agree that climate change is supercharging tropical cyclones: warmer oceans fuel stronger winds, a warmer atmosphere intensifies rainfall, and higher sea levels magnify storm surge.
Straits Times
12 hours ago
- Straits Times
Hurricane Erin brings rough seas as it grows near Atlantic archipelagos
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox A man stands on a beach, following the passage of Erin, the first hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic season, in Nagua, Dominican Republic, August 17, 2025. REUTERS/Erika Santelices Residents in the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos on Monday braced for the Atlantic season's first hurricane, the Category 4 Erin, after it strengthened over the weekend while sweeping past the Caribbean. Erin has so far not made landfall or caused any major damage. The U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Erin was expected to strengthen somewhat on Monday but bypass the northern Atlantic archipelagos. It will likely maintain its force as a dangerous major hurricane through the middle of the week, but avoid contact with Bermuda or the U.S. coast. As of Monday at 1500 GMT, the storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 140 mph (225 kph) as it skirted north of Hispaniola, the Caribbean's most populous island. Its strength had fluctuated over the weekend, rising on Saturday to Category 5, the highest level of the Saffir-Simpson scale, before landing at Category 4 late on Sunday. "Erin's expanding wind field will result in rough ocean conditions over much of the western Atlantic," the NHC said, saying it would grow larger than its current tropical storm-force winds stretching up to 230 miles (370 km) from its center. Erin is the fifth named storm of the 2025 Atlantic season and the first to reach hurricane status. The last Atlantic storm to reach Category 5 intensity was Hurricane Milton in October last year. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Jobs, infrastructure and homes at the core of Singapore's resilience: Economists Business New online tools by SkillsFuture Singapore help companies plan and curate staff training Life Chinese EV brand Nio to be launched in Singapore in first quarter of 2026 Asia 2 firefighters die in building fire at Osaka's Dotonbori tourist district Singapore Driver hurt after car turns turtle in Upper Thomson accident Sport National tennis player Shaheed Alam serves up charity event to benefit migrant workers Life New Blackpink album scheduled for November, YG Entertainment confirms Singapore Jail for driver of 11-tonne garbage truck that ran over cyclist in Woodlands The Dominican Republic put its northern coast on alert over the weekend, but had no reports of significant damage. In Turks and Caicos, an overseas British territory, authorities suspended public services on its largest island and told residents in vulnerable areas to pack in case of evacuation. The Bahamas' meteorology department said the islands' southeast, as well as Turks and Caicos, were experiencing tropical storm conditions, and warned that boats should not go out to sea until the end of the week. "The seas could become extremely rough and dangerous during the swells," it said. The NHC warned of strong currents across much of the U.S. and Canadian east coasts in the coming days. BMS meteorologist Andrew Siffert has said Erin may pass offshore along Canada's Maritime Provinces without producing heavy rain, what he called a "gray swan" event. He warned that sustained high winds could raise the risk of wildfires. REUTERS
CNA
2 days ago
- CNA
Erin strengthens to a Category 5 hurricane, NHC says
Hurricane Erin, the first hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic season, has become a catastrophic Category 5 hurricane, the US National Hurricane Center said on Saturday (Aug 16). The storm is currently 170 km north of Anguilla, with maximum sustained winds near 255 km/h. The NHC said on Friday 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 Saturday. 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 Friday that Erin is forecast to remain far enough offshore to spare the US East Coast from significant impacts. The storm is projected to pass north of the northern Caribbean Leeward Islands before turning north between the US East Coast and Bermuda around Monday.
