Erin has intensified to a Category Four Hurricane as it makes its way toward the East Coast of the United States.

Hurricane Erin on Saturday strengthened to a "catastrophic" Category 5 storm as it barrelled towards the Caribbean, with weather officials warning of possible flash floods and landslides. The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in its latest report the storm'

Powerful Hurricane Erin has undergone a period of astonishingly rapid intensification — a phenomenon that has become far more common in recent years as the planet warms. It is now a rare Category 5, churning through the Atlantic Ocean north of the Caribbean.

Spaghetti models predict Erin will skirt the U.S. East Coast by hundreds of miles as it moves north through next week.

The NHC said it currently expected Erin to become a Category 4 storm later Saturday but to eventually swerve away from the continental United States.