Forecasters are tracking a new disturbance in the Atlantic Ocean as Hurricane Erin, a Category 5 storm, undergoes an eyewall replacement cycle, according to a Saturday night update from the National Hurricane Center.

"Erin will be a large and powerful hurricane over the southwestern Atlantic Ocean this weekend," the National Hurricane Center said.

As Erin continues to churn over very warm water, the storm will gain quick momentum and will likely become the first major hurricane (a category 3, 4 or 5 storm) as early as this weekend as it passes to the north of Puerto Rico.

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.

Hurricane Erin has officially formed in the Atlantic Ocean on Friday, Aug. 15, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Erin formed in the eastern Atlantic Ocean on Monday and is strengthening as it moves westward. The NHC said there is still uncertainty about what impact it could have on states like Florida on the U.S. East Coast, as well as the Bahamas and Bermuda.

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.

Even if a tropical depression does not form over the next day or so, environmental conditions appear conducive for later development, and a tropical depression is likely to form by the middle to latter portion of this