Hurricane Erin swelled to a Category 5 storm, the strongest category possible, in the Caribbean on Saturday \u2014 and it could cause \u201clife-threatening surf and rip currents\u201d on East Coast beaches early next week.<\/p>\n
Erin rapidly grew from a tropical storm to a hurricane<\/a> in just 24 hours, with winds doubling to 160 mph Saturday morning, the National Hurricane Center said.<\/p>\n Fox Weather meteorologist Cody Braud told The Post on Saturday that the storm will remain \u201crather strong\u201d for the next two to three days \u2014 and it\u2019s literally \u201cup in the air\u201d as to how high winds can get.<\/p>\n Hurricane Erin is now a Category 5 storm. FOX Weather<\/p>\n Satellite image of Hurricane Erin approaching the Caribbean. NOAA\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cThat is highly uncertain at the moment. It has exceeded all expectations as of this morning,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSo it very well could get stronger. If it does, it won\u2019t be that much stronger. Once you\u2019ve gotten to the Category 5 range, there\u2019s nothing really else to achieve besides higher winds or a lower pressure, which it may do.\u201d<\/p>\n Hurricane\u00a0Erin\u00a0is the first\u00a0hurricane\u00a0of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season. via REUTERS<\/p>\n Erin is expected to grow \u201cthree to five times as large\u201d in size by the middle of the week, Braud said.<\/p>\n Although it will not directly hit the US, it is expected to cause dangerous surf conditions on the East Coast.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are expecting extremely large waves to slam into the East Coast all next week. And it will be very dangerous if anybody is deciding to venture out there. It will be highly discouraged to not be anywhere in the Atlantic waters next week,\u201d Braud warned.<\/p>\n \u201cAs it moves north, the wind field in relation to the storm will drastically expand, and that\u2019s going to cause potential beach erosion, life threatening surf and rip currents, and really coastal beach impacts from Florida all the way up to Maine.\u201d<\/p>\n The Virgin Islands or\u00a0Puerto Rico\u00a0will be hit with\u00a0Hurricane\u00a0Erin. FOX Weather<\/p>\n