Hurricane Erin weakened to a Category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph while its outer bands pounded the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico with gusty winds and heavy rains early Sunday.

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,

Mighty Hurricane Erin will cruise waters just east of the United States this week. Even if the center of the hurricane remains offshore, far-reaching and dangerous impacts will be felt at the beaches.

The outer bands of powerful Hurricane Erin lashed Puerto Rico, and the storm is approaching the Bahamas next. What can the mainland U.S. expect?

Erin, which quickly strengthened into a Category 5 storm on Saturday, is not expected to make landfall in the U.S., but experts remain on alert.

Hurricane Erin will not be making landfall in the southeastern U.S., according to the National Weather Service's briefing at 5 a.m., Aug. 17. The storm "will pass well offshore through the coming week," wrote the NWS.

A westward-moving tropical wave could produce an area of low pressure in the tropical Atlantic late in the week of Aug. 18, the hurricane center said on Aug. 16. The center shows a 20% chance of storm formation over the next week.