By The Associated Press Hurricane Erin weakened to a Category 3 hurricane Sunday as its outer bands continued to lash the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico with heavy rains and tropical-storm force

The storm is not currently forecast to hit land, but its strong winds are impacting nearby islands, prompting warnings of possible flooding and landslides.

The first hurricane of 2025 in the Atlantic continued to track north of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands on Sunday morning, hitting those islands with heavy rain and gusty winds. Erin is expected to move away from the islands later today and begin to curve more to the north.

As of 11 AM AST Sunday, the National Hurricane Center reported that Erin’s center was located about 200 miles northwest of San Juan, Puerto Rico, and 240 miles east of Grand Turk Island. The hurricane is packing maximum sustained winds of 125 mph, making it a Category 3 storm. Its minimum central pressure is estimated at 946 millibars.

BEAUMONT, Texas — Tropical Storm Erin is moving quickly westward across the Atlantic Ocean and could strengthen into a hurricane by late Thursday, prompting the National Hurricane Center to advise residents of the northern Leeward Islands, Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico to monitor the storm's progress.

Tropical Storm Erin -- which is forecast to strengthen into the first hurricane of the Atlantic season by Saturday morning -- won't have a direct impact on the U.S., but it will bring dangerous rip currents to the East Coast.

Erin was a Category 3 hurricane Sunday, the National Hurricane Center said in its 2 p.m. ET update, with sustained winds of 125 mph, with tropical storm-force winds reaching out 205 miles. The storm is expected to continue to fluctuate in intensity,