Hurricane Erin, battering the Caribbean with high winds and storm surges, was downgraded to Category 3 over the weekend. But the storm actually grew in size, and forecasters are saying it has quickly re-intensified to a Category 4 this morning.
Cruise lines have been forced to reroute in the face of sustained winds hitting more than 250kph as the storm surges toward the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.
The US National Hurricane Centre is warning of life-threatening surf and rip currents today along the beaches of the Bahamas, the east coast of the US, Bermuda and Atlantic Canada.
At time of publishing, Hurricane Erin sits south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, packing sustained winds of nearly 220kph.
It is expected to continue to strengthen today, remaining a “large and dangerous major hurricane” through the middle of the week, according to the National Hurricane Centre.
Erin is the first named hurricane of the season, which runs from June 1 – November 30th each year.
