SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Hurricane Erin exploded in strength to a Category 5 storm in the Caribbean on Saturday, rapidly powering up from a tropical storm in a single day, the National Hurricane Center said.

Heavy rains were forecast to start late Friday in Antigua and Barbuda, the U.S. and British Virgin Islands and southern and eastern Puerto Rico.

Hurricane Erin, now a Category 5 storm, with maximum sustained winds of 160-mph, is expected to continue strengthening.

La tormenta Erin alcanzó fuerza huracán el viernes mientras avanzaba hacia el noreste del Caribe, lo que llevó a los meteorólogos a

Erin has become the first hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic season as it heads west toward the Leeward Islands and the Caribbean. It's expected to strengthen.

The Atlantic basin includes the northern Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of America, as the Gulf of Mexico is now known in the U.S. per an order from President Trump. NOAA and the National Hurricane Center are now using Gulf of America on its maps and in its advisories.