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.

Hurricane Erin briefly strengthened into a Category 5 storm. It is not expected to make a direct hit on the U.S. but will create dangerous surf.

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

Tropical Storm Erin continues its westward path across the Atlantic, expected to become a hurricane Aug. 15, and a major hurricane by Sunday morning.

Hurricane hunters with the NOAA flew through the eye of Hurricane Erin after it rapidly intensified into a rare Category 5 hurricane. Erin is expected to continue to fluctuate in intensity as it undergoes an eyewall replacement cycle.