Erin is the first hurricane to develop over the Atlantic this year, and meteorologists are closely tracking its path and forecast.

Hurricane Erin pelted parts of the Caribbean and was forecast to create dangerous surf and rip currents along the U.S. East Coast this week.

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 winds.

Officials in the northern Caribbean are warning of heavy rains and dangerous swells as Tropical Storm Erin approaches the region.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Tropical Storm Erin is churning in the Atlantic Ocean and moving toward the Caribbean, likely to become the season’s first hurricane, a storm with sustained winds above 74 miles per hour.