COLUMBIA, S.C. — Hurricane Erin is intensifying, as forecasters had anticipated. Data from reconnaissance aircraft indicates that the storm's strongest winds now extend significantly from its center. Hurricane-force winds reach up to 80 miles away, while tropical-storm-force winds stretch nearly 230 miles. The eye of the hurricane has expanded to about 35 miles in diameter, and there are indications of smaller swirling features within it. Observations suggest that Erin may have developed two distinct eyewalls, a characteristic of a very powerful storm.

The hurricane's top sustained winds are currently near 130 mph, with even stronger gusts, maintaining its status as a dangerous major hurricane. Outer rainbands from Erin are already affecting parts of the southeastern Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands, bringing heavy rain and tropical storm conditions. These regions are expected to experience strong winds, flooding rains, and hazardous surf throughout the day.

The central Bahamas may also begin to feel the storm's effects by late today into Tuesday. Hurricane Erin is moving slowly west-northwest but is projected to turn northward later today and into Tuesday. This trajectory is expected to take Erin between the U.S. East Coast and Bermuda on Wednesday and Thursday, before it accelerates northeast into the open Atlantic later in the week.

Although Erin is forecast to gradually weaken after tonight, it will remain a powerful hurricane for several days, with its wind field continuing to expand. The growing size of Erin is likely to create rough seas and life-threatening rip currents along the Bahamas, much of the U.S. East Coast, Bermuda, and Atlantic Canada. Residents in these areas, particularly along North Carolina’s Outer Banks and Bermuda, should closely monitor the storm, as outer rainbands could bring strong winds by midweek.

In addition to Hurricane Erin, a broad area of showers and thunderstorms has developed over the eastern tropical Atlantic, associated with a tropical wave moving quickly westward. Forecasters believe conditions are favorable for this system to gradually organize, with a potential tropical depression forming later in the week. The disturbance is expected to track west to west-northwest at approximately 20 mph, potentially reaching the Leeward Islands by Friday.

Currently, the National Hurricane Center assesses the system's chance of development over the next 48 hours as low, near zero percent, but the likelihood increases to 50 percent over the next seven days. Residents in the eastern Caribbean should stay alert for updates as the system progresses across the central tropical Atlantic.