Hurricane Erin is likely to restrengthen again as it passes east of the Turks and Caicos Islands and the southeast Bahamas on Monday after lashing the Caribbean with damaging winds and flooding rain.

The storm will remain a major hurricane through the middle of the week, according to the National Hurricane Center.

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.

The NHC said it currently expected Erin to become a Category 4 storm later Saturday but to eventually swerve away from the continental United States.

Hurricane Erin has maintained 125 mph winds as it brought damaging impacts to parts of the Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands on Sunday. The National Hurricane Center says the storm could undergo another intensification episode again becoming a Category 4 hurricane.

Despite this, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) says Erin is growing in size, with tropical-storm-strength winds extending 205 miles from its centre. Storm-related hazards, including flash flooding and landslides, are expected in the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

Hurricane Erin, which briefly reached Category 5 strength, battered parts of the Caribbean, including Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, with heavy rain and strong surf. Though it won’t make landfall in the U.