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August 19, 2025 - Hurricane Erin Lashes Puerto Rico and the Northern Leeward Islands
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On August 16, 2025, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) advised that Hurricane Erin had become a “catastrophic Category 5 hurricane” with maximum sustained winds of 160 miles per hour (255 km/h), after undergoing extreme rapid intensification. At that time, the center of the storm was located about 105 miles (170 km) north of Anguilla and was travelling westward at 17 mph (28 km/h). The island of Anguilla is one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles and sits east of Puerto Rica and due north of Saint Martin.
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired this true-color image of Hurricane Erin on August 16 as it travelled across the Caribbean Sea at peak strength. Convective bands were bringing strong winds and heavy rain to the Leeward Islands and Puerto Rico at that time, as can be seen in the image. According to media reports, Puerto Rico suffered heavy wind damage and flooding, with power outages across most of the island.
Erin formed on August 11 over the Atlantic Ocean just west of the Cape Verde Islands, which lie west of the northwest coast of Africa, and travelled westward as a tropical storm, slowly strengthening. At 1400 UTC (10:00 a.m. EDT) on August 15 Erin became the first hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season as winds reached 75 miles per hour (120 km/h) as it spun about 460 miles (740 km) east of the Northern Leeward Islands. Just 24 hours and 20 minutes later, according to the NHC, Erin had become a Category 5 hurricane, and its wind speeds had increased 85 miles per hour—a stunning rapid intensification that will, most likely, place Erin as one of the fastest-strengthening Atlantic hurricanes on record.
At 0300 UTC on August 19 (11:00 p.m. EDT August 18), the NHC advised that Hurricane Erin’s track was beginning to turn northward, with the storm located about 690 miles (1,105 km) southwest of Bermuda and about 780 miles (1,255 km) south southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Maximum sustained winds at that time were 125 mph (205 km/h), which placed it as a Category 3 storm on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.
While Hurricane Erin is not forecast to make landfall, the storm’s wind field is very large and expected to expand, which may cause significant storm surges and rip currents as far west as the East Coast of the United States. Localized areas of heavy rainfall across portions of the southeastern Bahamas, with storm total amounts of up to 8 inches are possible, according to the NHC. Heavy rain is also expected over Hispaniola, the central Bahamas, and the Turks and Caicos. Tropical Storm Warnings are in effect for Turks and Caicos and the southeast Bahamas and a Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for the central Bahamas as well as Beaufort Inlet to Duck, North Carolina including North Carolina’s Pamlico Sound. In addition, a Storm Surge Watch is in effect for Cape Lookout to Duck, North Carolina.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Aqua
Date Acquired: 8/16/2025
Resolutions:
1km (660.2 KB), 500m (2 MB),
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
On August 16, 2025, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) advised that Hurricane Erin had become a “catastrophic Category 5 hurricane” with maximum sustained winds of 160 miles per hour (255 km/h), after undergoing extreme rapid intensification. At that time, the center of the storm was located about 105 miles (170 km) north of Anguilla and was travelling westward at 17 mph (28 km/h). The island of Anguilla is one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles and sits east of Puerto Rica and due north of Saint Martin.
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired this true-color image of Hurricane Erin on August 16 as it travelled across the Caribbean Sea at peak strength. Convective bands were bringing strong winds and heavy rain to the Leeward Islands and Puerto Rico at that time, as can be seen in the image. According to media reports, Puerto Rico suffered heavy wind damage and flooding, with power outages across most of the island.
Erin formed on August 11 over the Atlantic Ocean just west of the Cape Verde Islands, which lie west of the northwest coast of Africa, and travelled westward as a tropical storm, slowly strengthening. At 1400 UTC (10:00 a.m. EDT) on August 15 Erin became the first hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season as winds reached 75 miles per hour (120 km/h) as it spun about 460 miles (740 km) east of the Northern Leeward Islands. Just 24 hours and 20 minutes later, according to the NHC, Erin had become a Category 5 hurricane, and its wind speeds had increased 85 miles per hour—a stunning rapid intensification that will, most likely, place Erin as one of the fastest-strengthening Atlantic hurricanes on record.
At 0300 UTC on August 19 (11:00 p.m. EDT August 18), the NHC advised that Hurricane Erin’s track was beginning to turn northward, with the storm located about 690 miles (1,105 km) southwest of Bermuda and about 780 miles (1,255 km) south southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Maximum sustained winds at that time were 125 mph (205 km/h), which placed it as a Category 3 storm on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.
While Hurricane Erin is not forecast to make landfall, the storm’s wind field is very large and expected to expand, which may cause significant storm surges and rip currents as far west as the East Coast of the United States. Localized areas of heavy rainfall across portions of the southeastern Bahamas, with storm total amounts of up to 8 inches are possible, according to the NHC. Heavy rain is also expected over Hispaniola, the central Bahamas, and the Turks and Caicos. Tropical Storm Warnings are in effect for Turks and Caicos and the southeast Bahamas and a Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for the central Bahamas as well as Beaufort Inlet to Duck, North Carolina including North Carolina’s Pamlico Sound. In addition, a Storm Surge Watch is in effect for Cape Lookout to Duck, North Carolina.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Aqua
Date Acquired: 8/16/2025
Resolutions:
1km (660.2 KB), 500m (2 MB),
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
