Hurricane Erin could bring dangerous seas as it grows near the Bahamas

19/8/2025 6:19

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 Caribbean islands.



While Erin is not on track to make direct landfall and has yet to cause major damage, its growing size and strength are threatening rough seas and have prompted some evacuation orders in parts of North Carolina, on the U.S. East Coast.



"Erin's already large size and intensity are acting like a giant plunger on the sea surface," AccuWeather senior meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said in a report.

Sosnowski said Erin was among the fastest-strengthening storms on record after it intensified from a tropical storm to a Category 5 hurricane, the highest level of the Saffir-Simpson scale, in just over 27 hours.



It makes 2025 the fourth straight Atlantic season with at least one Category 5 storm.