Offshore Hurricane Erin was downgraded to a Category 3 storm early Sunday, as rain lashed Caribbean islands and weather officials warned of possible flash floods and landslides.It also warned of "locally considerable flash and urban flooding,

Storms that ramp up so quickly complicate forecasting and make it harder for government agencies to plan for emergencies. Hurricane Erick, a Pacific storm that made landfall June 19 in Oaxaca, Mexico, also strengthened rapidly, doubling in intensity in less than a day.

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.

It quickly powered up from a tropical storm to a Category 5 in a single day, the National Hurricane Center said.

Hurricane Erin has strengthened into a Category 2 storm as it approaches Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, bringing heavy rains that could cause flooding and landslides.

As of 5:00 p.m. AST on Sunday, Erin’s center was positioned approximately 275 miles northwest of San Juan, Puerto Rico, tracking west-northwest at 13 mph. Although no longer directly affecting the area, the storm’s outer bands are still delivering heavy rainfall, dangerous marine conditions, and life-threatening surf along coastal areas.

Erin, the first hurricane of the season, is now a powerful Category 5 hurricane. Here's where it could head in the week ahead.

While the compact hurricane's center wasn't expected to strike land, it threatened to dump flooding rains on the northeast Caribbean as it continued to grow larger.

BEAUMONT, Texas — Tropical Storm Erin is moving quickly westward across the Atlantic Ocean and could strengthen into a hurricane by late Thursday, prompting the National Hurricane Center to advise residents of the northern Leeward Islands, Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico to monitor the storm's progress.

A New York man was shot and killed in Puerto Rico, where he was visiting to attend a Bad Bunny concert, police said.