Hurricane Erin rapidly intensified overnight as it developed a small, symmetric core. The eye shrunk in size to about 9 miles, which has the equivalent effect to a figure skater drawing in their arms to spin faster. The National Hurricane Center had predicted rapid intensification with Erin, but it's happened ahead of schedule.

The storm has shed the dust and dry air that was limiting the intensification process and is moving over even warmer ocean water. The forecast calls for it to intensify a bit more – a Category 5 can't be ruled out – before the top winds come down and the storm grows in size as it turns north on a track offshore of the U.S. East Coast.

Erin's diameter is forecast to increase four- or five-fold over the next five or six days. Large hurricanes put much more energy in

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