Hurricane Erin remains a Category 4 storm, forecast to bring life-threatening surf and rip currents across the U.S.

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.

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.

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.