The National Hurricane Center is monitoring two disturbances in the Atlantic—the first poised to approach the northern Leeward Islands later this week and the second near the Cabo Verde Islands—while Hurricane Erin, now a Category 3, heads away from the Caribbean.

Tropical Storm Erin has begun strengthening as it streaks west across the Atlantic and is on track to reach hurricane status as soon as Friday, prompting tropical storm watches in the northern Leeward Islands.

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

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.

Over the weekend, Erin is expected to rapidly intensify all the way to a Category 3 hurricane. By Monday, as the storm steers away from the Caribbean and toward Bermuda, it's now forecast to hit Category 4 with 130 mph sustained winds. Some long-term computer models suggest it could get even stronger and hit Category 5 in the open ocean.

Forecast models show a possible Caribbean tropical storm or hurricane next week, but here’s why predictions this far out are uncertain.

Hurricane Erin rapidly intensified into an extremely dangerous Category 5 cyclone as it stayed safely north of the Caribbean islands over the weekend.

Tropical Storm Erin is forecast to rapidly strengthen into a hurricane this weekend as it nears the northeastern Caribbean and Bahamas, raising concerns for strong winds, heavy rain, and dangerous surf along the islands.

After fighting cooler ocean waters and Saharan dust, Tropical Storm Erin is now starting to become better organized and could rapidly intensify as tropical storm watches start to be issued throughout the Caribbean.

Fishermen are watching the weather intently as Hurricane Erin's predicted big swell could throw a fork in their plans