Tropical Storm Erin formed in the eastern Atlantic Ocean on Monday, forecasters said. The storm could strengthen to become the Atlantic's first hurricane of the season.

Hurricane Erin is forecast to continue growing in size, with hurricane-force winds extending up to 50 miles from its center.

Powerful Hurricane Erin has undergone a period of astonishingly rapid intensification — a phenomenon that has become far more common in recent years as the planet warms. It was a rare Category 5 for a time Saturday before becoming a Category 4,

A westward-moving tropical wave could produce an area of low pressure in the tropical Atlantic late in the week of Aug. 18, the hurricane center said on Aug. 16. The center shows a 20% chance of storm formation over the next week.

Jean-Raymond Bidlot, senior scientist in ocean modeling at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) told Newsweek that Erin is forecast to strengthen over the next week as it heads toward the U.S. East Coast, reaching peak intensity offshore from Cape Hatteras.

Forecasters are watching a tropical disturbance with very high chances of formation as it moves west of Africa in the Atlantic Ocean. The low pressure system, causing strong winds and rough seas, is near the northwest Cabo Verde Islands and has a 90% chance of organizing into a tropical depression over the next two days.