Hurricane Erin went from Category 4 to a top-of-the-scale Category 5 on Saturday — but fortunately on a projected path that should keep it well away from Florida and the East Coast.
Around 11 a.m. Erin reached Cat 5 strength, and by the National Hurricane Center’s 5 p.m. advisory, it still packed maximum sustained winds of 160 mph. It was 285 miles northeast of San Juan, Puerto Rico.
It was moving north of the Northern Leeward Islands and was expected to continue on this path through the afternoon. It will begin its turn further into the open Atlantic Ocean tonight and into Sunday.
Read More: What will Florida feel from Erin
According to National Weather Service meteorologist Will Redman, South Florida residents have nothing to worry about.
“It won’t impact here,” Redman told the Miami Herald. “It probably won’t touch the coastline. At this point, there won’t be an effect.”
But beachgoers and boaters could see swells and rough seas along in Florida’s coastal waters and along the East Coast in the coming week — impacts that will be even stronger in the Bahamas and Bermuda.
Forecasters said Erin would pass north of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, but both could see heavy rains and potential mudslides or power outages. From there, Erin was expected to eventually weaken slightly as it begins a more northerly turn that could bring it close to Bermuda sometime Wednesday or Thursday.
The hurricane center recommends that residents in other nearby places, like the Virgin Islands and the southeastern Bahamas, monitor Erin’s progress.
A tropical storm watch is still in effect for St. Martin and St. Barthelemy as well as Sint Maarten. In the 5 p.m. update, the Turks and Caicos Islands were also placed under the storm watch. Tropical storm conditions are possible during the next 48 hours in those areas.
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