Hurricane Erin exploded in strength and became a major storm in Atlantic waters just north of the Caribbean on Saturday, rapidly powering up from a tropical storm in a single day and bringing heavy rains and high winds to islands in the region.

Erin, which quickly strengthened into a Category 5 storm on Saturday, is not expected to make landfall in the U.S., but experts remain on alert.

Offshore Hurricane Erin was downgraded to a Category 3 storm early Sunday, as rain lashed Caribbean islands and weather officials warned of possible flash floods and landslides.

Hurricane Erin now has winds of 155 mph and continues to head to the west-northwest. The storm has officially doubled in strength since 5 pm yesterday. Heavy rainfall from outer bands of Erin is occurring across the Northern Leeward Islands,

Watch a live tracker of Hurricane Erin as it moves through the northeast Caribbean. The first Atlantic hurricane of the year is not expected to hit land.

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

Erin, the first hurricane of the season, is now forecast to become a Category 4 by Sunday. Here's where it could head in the week ahead.

The U.S. could see the landfall of its first hurricane this year in the coming weeks, as Tropical Storm Erin continues to build in the Atlantic. Current projections see the storm developing into a hurricane sometime in the next few days as it moves west across the ocean,