While Erin is expected to take a northward turn in the Atlantic, a new system off the coast of Africa has the National Hurricane Center's attention.

It quickly powered up from a tropical storm to a Category 5 in a single day, the National Hurricane Center said.

Storms that ramp up so quickly complicate forecasting and make it harder for government agencies to plan for emergencies. Hurricane Erick, a Pacific storm that made landfall June 19 in Oaxaca, Mexico, also strengthened rapidly, doubling in intensity in less than a day.

Officials in the northern Caribbean are warning of heavy rains and dangerous swells as Tropical Storm Erin approaches the region.

Hurricane Erin rapidly intensified into an extremely dangerous Category 5 cyclone as it stayed safely north of the Caribbean islands over the weekend.

A heat advisory has been issued for the Dallas-Fort Worth area and points east, as a powerful and rapidly intensifying Hurricane Erin churns in the Caribbean.