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

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

Heavy rains are forecast to start with the storm expected to become a major Category 3 storm over the weekend.

The National Hurricane Center is tracking Tropical Storm Dexter, Invest 96L and system off the southeastern coast of the United States.

Erin became a Category 3 hurricane in the Caribbean early Saturday and is expected to strengthen further during the day, the National Hurricane Center reported. The storm is currently 170 miles (275 kilometers) northeast of Anguilla with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph (195 kph).

A tropical wave was forecast to move off the west coast of Africa in the next day or two. Thereafter, some gradual development of the wave is possible during the middle to latter part of next week while it moves generally west-northwestward across the central tropical Atlantic.

The National Hurricane Center is monitoring two disturbances in the Atlantic. A third, Tropical Storm Dexter, the fourth named storm of the season, continues to move out to sea. Why it matters: August is usually when hurricane season ramps up,

Tropical Storm Erin is on track to become the first Atlantic hurricane of the 2025 season. The storm developed from a tropical wave as it spun west off the western coast of Africa, the National Hurricane Center in Miami announced on Monday, Aug. 11.