San Juan, Puerto Rico (AP) – Hurricane Erin Weakened in a category 3 hurricane on Sunday while its exterior bands continued to whisk the Virgin and Puerto Rico islands with heavy rain and tropical winds.
While the maximum winds of Erin decreased, the overall size of the storm increased and the forecasters expressed tropical storm warnings for the Turkish islands and caicos and the southeast Bahamas.
The storm should not have a direct impact on the east coast of the United States, but by dubbing or while tripling size, it could bring rip currents along the coast. Winds in mind and flood tides could wash parts of the highway that connects the outdoor banks of North Carolina to the middle of the week, the National Weather Service said.
Bermuda could have conditions similar to Erin should turn north and northeast, the forecasters said.
AP correspondent, Julie Walker reports on Hurricane Erin, who has become a category 3 hurricane as he moves between the Bermuda and the United States.
Erin, the first hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic, reached category 5 status on Saturday with maximum winds of 160 mph (260 km / h) before weakening.
The maximum -sustained maximum winds of the storm were 125 mph (205 km / h) Sunday morning, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
The winds decreased when the storm has undergone internal changes. Erin should remain powerful for the coming days and should strengthen again, the forecasters said.
“You are dealing with a major hurricane. The intensity fluctuates. It is a dangerous hurricane anyway,” said Richard Pasch of the National Hurricane Center.
The center of Erin was around 235 miles (380 kilometers) in the north-northwest of San Juan, Puerto Rico and 200 miles (320 kilometers) to the east of the island of Grand Turk, moving to the west-northwest to 13 mph (20 km / h).
The rain and the winds of the storm exterior bands left around 147,000 customers without electricity on Sunday morning in Porto Rico, according to Luma Energy, a private company that oversees the transmission and distribution of energy on the island. Time has canceled more than 20 flights, officials said.
The swells were also expected to affect parts of the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola and the Turkish and Caïcos islands over the next two days, the forecasters said.
The Coast Guard has enabled all the ports of Puerto Rico and the American virgin islands to reopen on Sunday while the winds and rains in the region are decreasing.
A tropical storm warning means that tropical storm conditions are expected somewhere in the warning zone, and in this case, within 24 hours, said the Hurricane Center. Strong rains are still expected through the Virgin and Puerto Rico islands, with precipitation from 3 to 6 inches (about 7.6 to 15 centimeters), with 8 inches (20 centimeters) in certain isolated areas.
Scientists have linked the Rapid intensification of hurricanes in the Atlantic to climate change. Global warming causes atmosphere to contain more water vapor And rotate the temperatures of the ocean, and the warmer waters give fuel to the hurricanes to release more rain and strengthen more quickly.
