Hurricane Erin exploded in strength to a Category 5 storm in the Caribbean on Saturday, rapidly powering up from a tropical storm in a single day, the National Hurricane Center said.

While a Gulf disturbance that moved into Texas on Friday seems to have run its course, Hurricane Erin in the western Atlantic intensifies.

Hurricane Erin is now a Category 5 storm as it rapidly intensified and threatens the Leeward Islands and Puerto Rico, then will move along the U.S. East Coast