Erin was a Category 3 hurricane Sunday, the National Hurricane Center said in its 2 p.m. ET update, with sustained winds of 125 mph, with tropical storm-force winds reaching out 205 miles. The storm is expected to continue to fluctuate in intensity,

Hurricane Erin strengthened into a fearsome Category 5 hurricane with sustained winds of 160 mph for much of the day on Aug. 16 as it traveled west just north of the Virgin Islands, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Powerful Hurricane Erin has undergone a period of astonishingly rapid intensification — a phenomenon that has become far more common in recent years as the planet warms. It was a rare Category 5 for a time Saturday before becoming a Category 4, churning through the Atlantic Ocean north of the Caribbean.