Hurricane Erin is likely to restrengthen again as it passes east of the Turks and Caicos Islands and the southeast Bahamas on Monday after lashing the Caribbean with damaging winds and flooding rain.

Hurricane Erin is expected to intensify, despite being downgraded to a category three storm as it moves towards the Bahamian Archipelago in the Caribbean. The storm became a rare category five cyclone on Saturday night, with winds up to 160mph (260km/h), but meteorologists expect it to grow in size as it develops over the next few days.

Monster Hurricane Erin is causing cruise disruptions, and bringing a lesser-known hurricane hazard to Bahamas beaches.

Erin is expected to reach major hurricane intensity this weekend as it tracks just north of the Caribbean islands, where it could bring rain, gusty winds and high surf.Erin's longer-term future through next week is still somewhat uncertain,

The National Hurricane Center continues to track the path of Tropical Storm Erin as it heads west, but the storm's potential impact on the Caribbean remains uncertain.

Hurricane Erin weakened to a Category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph as its outer bands pounded the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico with gusty winds and heavy rains Sunday. The U.S. East Coast is forecast to have rough ocean conditions through the middle of the week as the storm strengthens,

Much of North Carolina’s Outer Banks region is under a tropical storm watch with Hurricane Erin expected to skirt the area Wednesday through Thursday, according to the National Hurricane Center.