By The Associated Press Hurricane Erin weakened to a Category 3 hurricane Sunday as its outer bands continued to lash the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico with heavy rains and tropical-storm force

The first hurricane of 2025 in the Atlantic continued to track north of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands on Sunday morning, hitting those islands with heavy rain and gusty winds. Erin is expected to move away from the islands later today and begin to curve more to the north.

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 was a rare Category 5 for a time Saturday before becoming a Category 4,

"Extreme beach and coastal damage is likely along the oceanside, resulting in a significant threat to life and property," weather forecasters said about a Hurricane Erin impact on the OBX and other North Carolina coastal areas.

Sunday features hot temperatures with very high humidity, with dew points once again at or a little above 70 degrees for many of us. An uneventful cold front passing through the area Sunday night will bring an end to this one-day heat fest, and now it’s on to cooler temperatures to start the work week.

Hurricane Erin is expected to bring dangerous surf and rip currents to the Jersey Shore this week as it tracks far offshore.

A westward-moving tropical wave could produce an area of low pressure in the tropical Atlantic late in the week of Aug. 18, the hurricane center said on Aug. 16. The center shows a 20% chance of storm formation over the next week.

Hurricane Erin is passing the Caribbean to its north as a powerful Category 5 cyclone. The hurricane is expected to maintain its intensity for the next several days, while generating dangerous waves along the Southeast coast.