Heavy rains were forecast to start late Friday in Antigua and Barbuda, the U.S. and British Virgin Islands and southern and eastern Puerto Rico.

Hurricane Erin is now a Category 4 storm, rapidly intensifying overnight into early Saturday morning as it moves closer to the U.S. East Coast with sustained winds up to 155 mph.

Hurricane Erin has rapidly intensified into a category five hurricane, packing maximum sustained winds of 160mph (260km/h). National Hurricane Center Director Mike Brennan told a briefing that the "extremely powerful" storm had "explosively deepened and intensified" overnight after growing from tropical storm strength on Friday.