Hurricane Erin, the first major hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season, rapidly intensified Friday night, with the storm now reaching Category 5 strength with sustained winds of 160 mph.

Forecasters said Erin should begin to slowly weaken as it increased wind shear. However, it's predicted to remain a major hurricane until late next week.

After briefly weakening, Hurricane Erin has re-intensified into a Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of 130 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Storms that ramp up so quickly complicate forecasting and make it harder for government agencies to plan for emergencies. Hurricane Erick, a Pacific storm that made landfall June 19 in Oaxaca, Mexico, also strengthened rapidly, doubling in intensity in less than a day.

Hurricane Erin has weakened slightly to a Category 4 storm while positioned northeast of Puerto Rico and is on course to brush along the U.S. East Coast.

Charley roared ashore near Cayo Costa, Florida, or west of Fort Myers, packing maximum sustained winds of 150 mph on the afternoon of Aug. 13, 2004. The intensification of Charley prior to landfall was a worst-case scenario since nearly eight hours earlier over the eastern Gulf, it was a Category 2 with 110 mph winds.