Hurricane Erin is nearing hurricane strength with winds up to 70 mph and is expected to intensify into a powerful Category 4 hurricane by the weekend.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) has warned that Tropical Storm Erin is expected to strengthen and could become a major hurricane over the weekend as it shifts just north of the northern Leeward Islands,

Tropical Storm Erin is nearly at hurricane strength Thursday night, its western path putting islands in the far eastern Caribbean under tropical storm watches, according to the National Hurricane