While Erin is expected to take a northward turn in the Atlantic, a new system off the coast of Africa has the National Hurricane Center's attention.

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

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.

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

A heat advisory has been issued for the Dallas-Fort Worth area and points east, as a powerful and rapidly intensifying Hurricane Erin churns in the Caribbean.

Hurricane Erin rapidly intensified into an extremely dangerous Category 5 cyclone as it stayed safely north of the Caribbean islands over the weekend.

Tropical Storm Erin on Wednesday continued to push west through the Atlantic with it forecast to become the season’s first hurricane, growing to major hurricane strength by the weekend,