Weather Insider: Tracking Hurricane Erin

Hurricane Erin has become both the first hurricane and the first major hurricane in the Atlantic basin this year. It grew from a tropical storm to a major, Category 5 hurricane in roughly 24 hours. This is one of the fastest-growing storms in history. As of the publishing of this article, Erin is a Category 4 hurricane with central winds of 140 mph.

Thankfully, Erin has mostly avoided populated areas. It has brought rain and winds to some Caribbean islands, but nothing too intense. The storm will not have any major impacts on the U.S. However, the storm will cause some large swells to move toward the East Coast, particularly impacting some communities in North Carolina. The large waves and storm surge have prompted some evacuation warnings for communities in far eastern North Carolina, like the Outer Banks.