SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Hurricane Erin exploded in strength to a Category 5 storm in the Caribbean on Saturday, rapidly powering up from a tropical storm in a single day, the National Hurricane Center said.

Heavy rains were forecast to start late Friday in Antigua and Barbuda, the U.S. and British Virgin Islands and southern and eastern Puerto Rico.

Hurricane Erin, the first hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic season, has become a catastrophic Category 5 hurricane, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said on Saturday.

La tormenta Erin alcanzó fuerza huracán el viernes mientras avanzaba hacia el noreste del Caribe, lo que llevó a los meteorólogos a

By late Tuesday, Erin will have passed the Bahamas and will be heading north between the U.S. East Coast and Bermuda. Everyone is super lucky that this storm is threading the relative needle. But significant impacts will still be felt along the coast from Florida to New England.

Erin has become the first hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic season as it heads west toward the Leeward Islands and the Caribbean. It's expected to strengthen.

The system is expected to strengthen into a hurricane by Friday and could even become a major hurricane, according to experts.