Hurricane Erin tracker: Latest path, maps for first hurricane of Atlantic season

Erin has become the first hurricane of the Atlantic season, with several areas already on alert for heavy rain while strong waves and rip currents are possible along the East Coast of the United States as early as next week.

As of Saturday morning, Hurricane Erin had strengthened into a Category 4 storm with maximum sustained winds of up to 130 mph, the National Hurricane Center said.

Tropical storm watches are in place for the Northern Leeward Islands of St. Martin, St. Barts, Anguilla and Barbuda, with breezy and rainy conditions possible in these areas for the next 48 hours.

Erin is expected to pass near or north of the Leeward Islands on Saturday and could bring up to 6 inches of rain on Friday and Saturday.

This weekend, Erin will move north of Puerto Rico and could potentially become even stronger by Sunday morning. The outer bands of this storm could bring 2 to 4 inches of rain to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands on Saturday and Sunday, which could lead to isolated flash flooding, potential mudslides and gusty winds of 40 to 50 mph.

Erin could grow further into a Category 4 with gusts reaching 140 mph.

Moving to next week, Erin will continue to move northwest, staying east of the Bahamas.

The majority of meteorological modeling continues to keep Erin well off the East Coast of the U.S. by hundreds of miles, but large waves and life-threatening rip currents are still expected to reach the coast from Aug. 20 to Aug. 27.

This would not only be dangerous for anyone entering the waters, but also for property along the coast, as erosion — especially along North Carolina’s Outer Banks — could be a serious threat. The Outer Banks and other parts of North Carolina could see waves of 8 to 12 feet, with other areas of South Carolina and Virginia possibly seeing waves reaching 6 feet next week.

Despite the threat of strong waves along the East Coast, a cold front pushing off of America’s coast is expected to keep Erin out to sea and will also bring below-average temperatures to the Northeast next week.

The National Hurricane Center predicted an above-normal hurricane season for the Atlantic.

August, September and October are the most active months of the Atlantic hurricane season, which ends on Nov. 30.