Hurricane Erin, the first major hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season, rapidly intensified Friday night, with the storm now reaching Category 5 strength with sustained winds of 160 mph.

Partly sunny and hot this afternoon, before some late showers and storms for the Eastern Big Bend and South Georgia.

Erin is the first hurricane of 2025 Atlantic hurricane season. The storm is still expected to turn north, missing a U.S. landfall.

5 p.m. Update: Erin is now organizing and strengthening over the Central Atlantic. Erin is expected to become at least a Catgory 3 hurricane but missing Puerto Rico to the north and staying well east of Florida. It is expected to reach Jacksonville’s latitude about early Wednesday, resulting in some rough seas and surf at area beaches next week.

A westward-moving tropical wave could produce an area of low pressure in the tropical Atlantic late in the week of Aug. 18, the hurricane center said on Aug. 16. The center shows a 20% chance of storm formation over the next week.

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

Tropical Storm watches are now in effect for parts of the northern Leeward Islands as Erin is expected to become the first hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season by Friday, according to forecasters at the National Hurricane Center.

Hurricane Erin is forecast to remain well offshore but still bring hazardous currents and possible erosion like previous offshore hurricanes before it.