Erin is a Category 3 hurricane, the National Hurricane Center said in its 8 p.m. ET update Sunday, with sustained winds of 125 mph and tropical storm-force winds reaching out 205 miles. The storm is expected to continue to fluctuate in intensity and could double or even triple in size as it moves north and west,

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

Hurricane Erin could be near the southeast portion of Florida by Monday, Aug. 18 at 8 p.m. ET. This forecast track shows the most likely path of the center of the storm. It does not illustrate the full width of the storm or its impacts, and the center of the storm is likely to travel outside the cone up to 33% of the time.

Storms that ramp up so quickly complicate forecasting and make it harder for government agencies to plan for emergencies. Hurricane Erick, a Pacific storm that made landfall June 19 in Oaxaca, Mexico, also strengthened rapidly, doubling in intensity in less than a day.

It quickly powered up from a tropical storm to a Category 5 in a single day, the National Hurricane Center said.

Hurricane Erin weakened slightly to a Category 3 storm Sunday and, although it is slightly more south than originally forecast, is still expected to be east of the U.S. coast. Meanwhile, a new

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