After exploding in strength at a historic rate this weekend, Hurricane Erin is now a sprawling Category 4 storm churning in the Atlantic. The storm’s enormous footprint is becoming the biggest concern as it threatens to drive life-threatening rip currents and towering waves toward the eastern US coastline and Bermuda.

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

The storm is about 150 miles north of San Juan, Puerto Rico. Erin rapidly intensified into a category 5 major hurricane late Saturday morning. Erin is one of the fastest-growing storms on record. Its sustained winds increased from 75 mph on Friday morning to l60 mph by Saturday morning.

Hurricane Erin brought intense rainfall to the U.S. Virgin Islands as it passed through the region Sunday. The storm, which had weakened to a Category 3, did not make a direct landfall but dropped as much as six inches of rain on the Outer Banks.

Sunday features hot temperatures with very high humidity, with dew points once again at or a little above 70 degrees for many of us. An uneventful cold front passing through the area Sunday night will bring an end to this one-day heat fest, and now it’s on to cooler temperatures to start the work week.