Meteorologists are closely tracking the projected path and forecast of Hurricane Erin, which is the first hurricane to develop over the Atlantic this year.

Hurricane Erin is over 500 miles away from South Florida as of Wednesday afternoon, but the extreme size of the storm is still impacting the wind direction locally, and spreading wildfire smoke across the area.

A weakening Hurricane Erin is moving closer towards Bermuda as weather officials are keeping an eye on the two weather patterns that could  affect the region over the next seven days. The Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC) said that Erin is an estimated 555 miles west south west of Bermuda with maximum sustained winds of 100 miles per hour (mph).

Hurricane Erin underwent rapid intensification to become a Category 5 storm in just hours. It has since weakened to a Category 4 status.

While the category 4 storm is not expected to make landfall on the U.S. east coast, it will have an impact nonetheless. Dangerous high surf and rip currents are expected from Florida to New England throughout the week.

Erin, the first Atlantic hurricane of 2025, reached Category 5 status before weakening, with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph.

Erin intensified rapidly during the early hours of Saturday. It went from being a tropical storm on Friday morning, with maximum sustained winds of 70 mph, to a category 5 hurricane by 11 a.m. on Saturday,

Erin has strengthened into a hurricane as it approaches Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, bringing heavy rains that could cause flooding and landslides.