On August 16, 2025, Hurricane Erin had already become one of the most notable early-season storms in Atlantic history.

NBC News reported that Erin rapidly intensified from a Category 2 storm to a Category 5 at the start of the weekend before weakening gradually to Category 3 by early Sunday morning. The storm remained a major hurricane and was still producing dangerous conditions around Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and the Bahamas even as it moved away from a direct landfall track.

The report said Erin was about 140 miles north of San Juan, Puerto Rico, with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph and movement toward the west-northwest at 14 mph. It also said the storm was forecast to curve north between the U.S. East Coast and Bermuda next week. That path matters because it meant the center of the storm might stay offshore while still generating heavy surf, rip currents and dangerous weather along a broad stretch of coastline.

The strongest immediate effects were being felt on nearby islands. NBC News said about 130,000 utility customers in Puerto Rico lost power on Saturday night, and the National Weather Service office in San Juan warned of winds up to 50 mph across nearly two-thirds of the island. The report also said waves as high as 27 feet were measured by a U.S. buoy north-northeast of San Juan.

The storm’s size was as important as its wind speed. Forecasters said Erin would remain a major hurricane through midweek and warned that rough ocean conditions could create life-threatening surf and rip currents from the Bahamas to Atlantic Canada. Tropical storm watches were in effect for the Turks and Caicos Islands, while Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and parts of the Bahamas were told to monitor the storm closely.

The report described Erin as unusual on several fronts. It was the first Category 5 hurricane to form this early in the Atlantic season and the only one on record to reach that intensity so early. It was also noted as the fifth named storm of the 2025 Atlantic season and the first to reach hurricane strength. Colorado State University meteorologist Philip Klotzbach said its pressure reading ranked among the lowest ever observed that early in the season, a sign of exceptional strength.

For coastal communities, the immediate danger was not a direct strike but the combination of wind, water and surf. Even if the center stayed offshore, the storm could still trigger flooding, landslides and dangerous beach conditions. The forecasted path meant people in the eastern Caribbean and along the U.S. East Coast were watching the storm as a wide-area hazard rather than a single landfall event.

This article relies on the supplied NBC News report and preserves its caution about the storm’s changing intensity and uncertain track.