Erin becomes first hurricane of 2025 Atlantic season; could impact Long Island beaches, NOAA says
The National Hurricane Center announced Friday morning that Erin has strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane, the first of the 2025 Atlantic season. Credit: nhc.noaa.gov
It's official.
Two-and-a-half months into the Atlantic season — and, after four previous storm systems failed to materialize into one of significance — the region has its first documented hurricane.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Hurricane Center announced Friday that Tropical Storm Erin is now a Category 1 hurricane, packing sustained winds of at least 75 mph.
While NOAA said forecast models had Erin tracking far-off the East Coast, the agency said it could still impact South Shore Atlantic Ocean beaches by midweek next week with "dangerous surf" posing possible erosion damage and also generating potentially life-threatening rip currents.
On Friday, the system was still hundreds of miles east of the northern Leeward Islands and the Caribbean Sea, including the U.S. Virgin Islands, St. Martin, Anguilla, St. Kitts, Antigua and Montserrat. Though the projected path of Hurricane Erin remains uncertain, most best-assessed storm tracks predict the storm will turn north toward Bermuda with no direct impact to the East Coast.
Erin is the first tropical storm system this season to evolve into a hurricane, NOAA said. Four prior Atlantic storm systems — Andrea, Barry, Chantal and Dexter — all failed to achieve hurricane strength.
Atlantic hurricane season begins June 1 and runs through Nov. 30. At this time last year, the Atlantic already had seen three hurricanes: Beryl, Debby and Ernesto.
A Category 1 hurricane is the weakest of the five hurricane categories: Category 1 (sustained winds of 75-94 mph); Category 2 (96-110 mph); Category 3 (111-129 mph); Category 4 (130-156 mph); and Category 5 (157 mph and higher).
A Category 1 storm is considered a "minor hurricane," while a Category 3 storm is considered the least-powerful "major" hurricane.
On Friday, NOAA said in a statement it's possible Erin will soon evolve into a Category 3 storm — perhaps as soon as Friday evening.
"While the threat of direct impacts in the Bahamas and along the east coast of the United States appears to be gradually decreasing," NOAA said in a statement Friday at 11 a.m., "there will still be a significant risk of dangerous surf and rip currents along western Atlantic beaches next week."
John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”
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