Atlantic Hurricane Season Hits Record Peak with Storm Erin Approaching US Coast

Hurricane Erin Lashes Caribbean, Sparks East Coast Flood Warnings.

Hurricane Erin battered Caribbean islands Monday with powerful winds and rain, while prompting evacuations and coastal warnings along the US East Coast.

The storm, which briefly reached Category 5 over the weekend before weakening, was downgraded to a Category 3 with sustained winds of 125 mph (205 km/h), the US National Hurricane Center said. Erin’s vast size extended hurricane-force winds 80 miles from its center and tropical-storm winds 230 miles.

Heavy rainfall was forecast for Cuba, the Dominican Republic, the Turks and Caicos, and the Bahamas. In Puerto Rico, flooding and outages hit over the weekend before most power was restored. US officials warned of 20-foot waves, storm surge and rip currents midweek along the East Coast, especially the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Evacuations were ordered for Ocracoke and Hatteras islands.

Scientists linked Erin’s rapid intensification to record sea-surface warmth fueled by climate change. The storm is the first major hurricane of an Atlantic season that has now entered its peak, with forecasters predicting above-normal activity through November.