Erin has strengthened into a hurricane as it approaches Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, bringing heavy rains that could cause flooding and landslides.

Erin is within a day of becoming the first Atlantic hurricane of the 2025 season. It does not pose an immediate threat to Louisiana.

Erin has strengthened into a Category 2 hurricane as the storm continued on a path over the Atlantic Ocean, forecasters said. Early Friday, it became the first hurricane to develop in the Atlantic this year,

Officials in the northern Caribbean are warning of heavy rains and dangerous swells as Tropical Storm Erin approaches the region.

A tropical wave near the east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula was producing disorganized showers and thunderstorms at 7 a.m. and is expected to emerge across the southwestern Gulf Coast on Thursday, according to NHC forecasters.

Hurricane Erin was expected to soak the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico with heavy rain through the weekend before heading north up the Atlantic.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Tropical Storm Erin is churning in the Atlantic Ocean and moving toward the Caribbean, likely to become the season’s first hurricane, a storm with sustained winds above 74 miles per hour.