(CNN) — Tropical Storm Erin is tracking west over the open Atlantic Ocean on Tuesday and forecasters expect it to become the first hurricane of the Atlantic season this week.

Located hundreds of miles west of Africa’s Cabo Verde islands as of Tuesday morning, Erin is the fifth named storm of the 2025 Atlantic season. It will gradually strengthen as it moves westward in the coming days and could become a hurricane as soon as Wednesday night.

The system is moving through a portion of the Atlantic known as the “main development region,” which stretches from Africa’s west coast to the Caribbean. It’s where many tropical systems come to life – fueled by very warm ocean water – as hurricane season enters its typically busiest weeks.

It will take much of the week for Erin to make its way into

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