After a relatively quiet start to the Atlantic hurricane season, Erin became the first hurricane of the year in the Atlantic basin on Aug.15 and rapidly intensified into a major Category 5 storm the following day. This intensification is one of the fastest on record.
NOAA satellites have been closely tracking Erin since it started as a tropical wave off the coast of Africa on Aug. 9. The system strengthened into a tropical storm on Aug. 11, becoming the fifth named storm of the 2025 Atlantic season. The disturbance that became Erin passed near the Cape Verde island of São Vicente, triggering flooding that led to a disaster declaration and nine deaths according to media reports.
On Aug. 15, Erin strengthened into the first Atlantic hurricane of the season northeast of the Leeward Islands. By the morning of Aug. 16, Erin had rapidly intensified into a major Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 145 mph, before strengthening further into a Category 5 storm with 160 mph winds northeast of Anguilla in the Caribbean. Since records began in 1851, there have only been 11 other Atlantic hurricanes that have had 145 mph winds or stronger by this point in the season—six of which date back to 1969, within the satellite era.
Erin briefly weakened to a Category 3 storm on Aug. 17 before regaining Category 4 strength that night. Over the next few days, it made its way northward as a Category 2 storm with maximum sustained winds near 100 mph, generating dangerous surf and rip currents along much of the East Coast, including tropical storm conditions and coastal flooding across the Outer Banks and portions of the Mid-Atlantic coast. As of today, August 22, the storm remains a very large hurricane, but is in the first stages of post-tropical transition.
NOAA Satellites Provide Critical Information About Hurricane Erin
NOAA satellites provide vital information for forecasting hurricanes and monitoring the location, movement and intensity of storms. The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-19 (GOES-19), which operates as GOES East, continuously views the entire Atlantic hurricane basin to provide real-time tracking and monitoring of tropical storms as well as the environmental conditions that cause them to form.
Rapid, high resolution imagery from GOES-19 gave forecasters a detailed look at Erin’s structure, including its pinhole eye. Rapidly updating imagery also helps forecasters better monitor cloud features and more confidently estimate the center of a tropical storm or hurricane. That information helps guide reconnaissance aircraft, like NOAA Hurricane Hunters, to the correct location.
GOES-19 infrared imagery helped forecasters to track the location and persistence of rain bands near the Caribbean islands, aiding predictions of rainfall and potential flash flooding. Data from GOES-19 provided forecasters and emergency managers with real-time situational awareness of what was happening within the storm as well as its position and movement.
GOES-19 also monitored lightning activity within Hurricane Erin as it rapidly intensified. Its Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) aids hurricane analysis and forecasting by clearly conveying convective patterns below the cloud tops. This information helps forecasters assess the structure and evolution of tropical storms. Rapid increases in lightning activity can indicate a hurricane is strengthening.
The Joint Polar Satellite System’s (JPSS) polar-orbiting satellites, the NOAA/NASA Suomi-NPP, NOAA-20, and NOAA-21, capture data over each location on Earth twice per day. They measure the state of the atmosphere by taking precise measurements of sea surface temperatures and atmospheric temperature and moisture, which are critical to securing storm forecasts several days in advance. JPSS instruments provide data that are particularly useful in helping forecasters predict a hurricane’s path 3-7 days out.
What’s Ahead for the Remainder of the Atlantic Hurricane Season
NOAA issued its updated Atlantic hurricane season outlook on Aug. 7 and its prediction for an above-normal season remains on track. Forecasters from the National Weather Service updated the number of expected named storms to 13-18, of which 5-9 could become hurricanes including 2-5 major hurricanes (Cat 3 or higher). The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 through November 30.
As we approach the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season in September, NOAA satellites will remain vigilant, monitoring the ocean and atmospheric conditions that lead to the development of tropical storms and hurricanes. Once a storm forms, the satellites will provide critical data—such as location, movement, and intensity—to track the storms.