Hurricane Erin is now a Category 5 storm as it rapidly intensified and threatens the Leeward Islands and Puerto Rico, then will move along the U.S. East Coast

Erin is the first hurricane to develop over the Atlantic this year, and meteorologists are closely tracking its path and forecast.

Powerful Hurricane Erin has undergone a period of astonishingly rapid intensification — a phenomenon that has become far more common in recent years as the planet warms. It is now a rare Category 5, churning through the Atlantic Ocean north of the Caribbean.