Hurricane Erin briefly strengthened into a Category 5 storm. It is not expected to make a direct hit on the U.S. but will create dangerous surf.

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,

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.

Spaghetti models predict Erin will skirt the U.S. East Coast by hundreds of miles as it moves north through next week.

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 is now a rare Category 5, churning through the Atlantic Ocean north of the Caribbean.