Rip currents are the third leading cause of deaths from hurricanes, and they can happen on a sunny day hundreds of miles from the storm.

While the category 4 storm is not expected to make landfall on the U.S. east coast, it will have an impact nonetheless. Dangerous high surf and rip currents are expected from Florida to New England throughout the week.

Over the weekend, northern portions of the Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico are expected to receive tropical rain ranging from 2 to 4 inches, with isolated totals up to 6 inches. Flash flooding, landslides and mudslides will be the main concerns over the next several days.

The Atlantic basin includes the northern Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of America, as the Gulf of Mexico is now known in the U.S. per an order from President Trump. NOAA and the National Hurricane Center are now using Gulf of America on its maps and in its advisories.

Hurricane Erin's eyewall is now about 30 nautical miles, with hurricane-force-winds extending 80 miles from its eye.

Here's a quick, easy-to-read look on the latest about Hurricane Erin, including what Florida residents should know.

According to a post to X from Michael Lowry, a hurricane specialist for a south Florida news station, Erin is the fifth Category 5 storm on “record to form this early in the hurricane season and the only Category 5 observed outside the Gulf or Caribbean this early in the year.”

Erin, the first hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic season, is on track to rapidly intensify over the weekend and hit Category 4 strength next week in the open ocean. The latest forecast from the National Hurricane Center calls for Erin to cruise west for the next few days — staying comfortably north of inhabited islands — before hooking north early next week and avoiding direct landfall in the Bahamas or Florida.