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.

Hurricane Erin strengthens into a Category 5, as it moves north in the Atlantic; experts warn of potential dangerous (and potentially) epic waves.

Erin is the first hurricane to develop over the Atlantic this year, and meteorologists are closely tracking its path and forecast.

Officials in the northern Caribbean are warning of heavy rains and dangerous swells as Tropical Storm Erin approaches the region.

Erin, the first hurricane of the season, is now forecast to become a Category 4 by Sunday. Here's where it could head in the week ahead.

The U.S. could see the landfall of its first hurricane this year in the coming weeks, as Tropical Storm Erin continues to build in the Atlantic. Current projections see the storm developing into a hurricane sometime in the next few days as it moves west across the ocean,

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.