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.

A Spirit Airlines plane appears to have flown through Hurricane Erin this week when the hurricane was a Category 4 storm with winds well over 100 mph, according to a flight path shared on social media. Spirit Airlines told Newsweek in a statement that the flight operated normally and no injuries were reported.

Parts of North Carolina's Outer Banks have been placed under a tropical storm and storm surge watch as the still-growing, powerful, major Hurricane Erin begins a northward turn Tuesday that could send hazardous surf,

Hurricane Erin was a Category 4 storm Monday morning and is expected to retain major hurricane status through the middle of the week.

Hurricane Erin formed Friday and quickly escalated to a Category 4 storm with sustained winds of 130 mph. The current forecast path has the storm remaining far off the East Coast.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Erin strengthened into a powerful Category 4 hurricane in the Caribbean on Saturday and continues to intensify, the National Hurricane Center said. The storm is 150 miles northeast of Anguilla with maximum sustained winds of 145 mph. It is moving west-northwest at 20 mph (31 kph).

As of the National Hurricane Center’s 8 a.m. advisory, the center of Erin was located about 115 miles north-northeast of Grand Turk Island and 890 miles

Hurricane Erin's higher tides and big waves are battering much of the East Coast, with the large storm prompting the expansion of tropical storm and coastal flooding advisories Wednesday. Beachfront property owners are bracing for the worst amid predictions of a storm surge of up to 4 feet and significant coastal erosion.