Tropical Storm Erin on verge of becoming Atlantic season’s first hurricane

Forecasters say Tropical Storm Erin, which formed in the eastern Atlantic Ocean on Monday, is on the verge of becoming the Atlantic season’s first hurricane.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said that as of 5 a.m. Friday, Erin was packing maximum sustained winds of 70 mph. Once they hit 74 mph, Erin will be classified as a hurricane. Its center was some 570 miles east of the northern Leeward Islands and was moving west-northwest at 17 mph, the center said.

“Steady strengthening is expected during the next few days and Erin is forecast to become a hurricane later today and could become a major hurricane by this weekend,” the center said.  A major hurricane is defined as a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of at least 111 mph.

Thursday evening, the center said Erin would likely become “large and formidable.”

Erin wasn’t posing an immediate threat to the U.S. but there was uncertainty about its longer-term path.  

The storm formed just west of the Cabo Verde islands, off the western coast of Africa, before moving west, the center said.

Maps show Tropical Storm Erin’s projected path

The center of the storm is likely to move near or just north of the northern Leewards over the weekend, the hurricane center said.

The northern Leewards are a string of islands stretching from the Virgin Islands to Guadeloupe, including Anguilla, St. Martin, St. Barts, Antigua and Barbuda, and several others. 

Drone video footage posted to social media showed the aftermath of flooding from the storm in Cabo Verde, a group of islands about 385 miles off the African coast. Local media reported at least eight people were killed, and officials declared a state of emergency as crews dealt with the damage.

There’s uncertainty about where Erin goes after this week, but most models show the storm pivoting to the northwest and north, CBS News Miami meteorologist Shane Hinton reported.

Erin is the fifth named storm to develop during the Atlantic hurricane season, which started just over two months ago. Last week, Tropical Storm Dexter formed in the western Atlantic but didn’t pose a threat to land. In early July, Tropical Storm Chantal made landfall on the Carolina coast, bringing deadly flooding to the region.

The Atlantic hurricane season started in June and runs through November, with its peak months being August, September and October. 

The Pacific Ocean has already seen six hurricanes this year, including Henriette, which weakened to a tropical storm Tuesday and was not expected to hit land.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, predicted an above-normal season for the Atlantic basin this year, with an expected number of named storms between 13 and 18, five to nine of which could become hurricanes.

A tropical cyclone becomes a tropical storm when its maximum sustained wind speeds reach at least 39 mph. Hurricanes are more powerful with sustained winds of at least 74 mph. Hurricanes are rated on a scale ranging from Category 1 to Category 5, which is the most severe rating. A storm is considered to be a major hurricane when it reaches Category 3 strength with sustained winds of at least 111 mph.

Erielle Delzer and

Nikki Nolan

contributed to this report.