Powerful Hurricane Erin has undergone a period of astonishingly rapid intensification — a phenomenon that has become far more common in recent years as the planet warms. It was a rare Category 5 for a time Saturday before becoming a Category 4,

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

Hurricane Erin, downgraded to a Category 3 storm, continues to churn and will begin to turn northward in the Atlantic this week, and could bring dangerous surf and rip currents to the Bahamas, Bermuda,