Hurricane Erin pelted parts of the Caribbean and was forecast to create dangerous surf and rip currents along the U.S. East Coast this week.

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.

The storm will remain a major hurricane through the middle of the week, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Hurricane Erin restrengthened into a Category 4 storm late Sunday, with forecasters warning it is expected to intensify and grow in size in the coming days as it lashes Caribbean

Hurricane Erin has maintained 125 mph winds as it brought damaging impacts to parts of the Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands on Sunday. The National Hurricane Center says the storm could undergo another intensification episode again becoming a Category 4 hurricane.

As of 5 a.m. on Sunday, Hurricane Erin has weakened back to a Category 3 storm but has grown larger, the National Hurricane Center said.

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

The NHC said it currently expected Erin to become a Category 4 storm later Saturday but to eventually swerve away from the continental United States.

Hurricane Erin, which briefly reached Category 5 strength, battered parts of the Caribbean, including Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, with heavy rain and strong surf. Though it won’t make landfall in the U.

A westward-moving tropical wave could produce an area of low pressure in the tropical Atlantic late in the week of Aug. 18, the hurricane center said on Aug. 16. The center shows a 20% chance of storm formation over the next week.