The monster storm intensified to a Category 4 with 140 mph (225 kph) maximum sustained winds early Monday while it started to lash the Turks and Caicos Islands and the southeast Bahamas, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami.

Hurricane Erin is maintaining its strength as a major hurricane, churning in the Atlantic Ocean and delivering tropical storm force winds to Turks and Caicos and parts of the Bahamas. Erin’s influence will be increasingly felt along the tri-state area’s coastline during the latter half of the week.

Hurricane Erin on Monday bulked back up as a major Category 4 storm with an increasing wind field as it moved near the Bahamas. Meanwhile, the National Hurricane Center increased the odds a system

Hurricane Erin is pelting parts of the Caribbean and is forecast to create dangerous surf and rip currents along the U.S. East Coast this week.

The storm will remain a major hurricane through the middle of the week, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Erin has become the first hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season. The quick-moving storm expected to become a strong Category 4 storm, with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph within the next 72 hours, according to the latest advisory from the National Hurricane Center.

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.