Tropical Storm Erin formed in the eastern Atlantic Ocean on Monday, forecasters said. The storm could strengthen to become the Atlantic's first hurricane of the season.

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

Erin is within a day of becoming the first Atlantic hurricane of the 2025 season. It does not pose an immediate threat to Louisiana.

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

Hurricane Erin was expected to soak the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico with heavy rain through the weekend before heading north up the Atlantic.

A tropical wave near the east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula was producing disorganized showers and thunderstorms at 7 a.m. and is expected to emerge across the southwestern Gulf Coast on Thursday, according to NHC forecasters.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Tropical Storm Erin is churning in the Atlantic Ocean and moving toward the Caribbean, likely to become the season’s first hurricane, a storm with sustained winds above 74 miles per hour.

The hatched areas on the National Hurricane Center's tropical outlook map indicate "areas where a tropical cyclone — which could be a tropical depression, tropical storm or hurricane — could develop," said National Hurricane Center Deputy Director Jamie Rhome.