Though Erin is not currently forecast to make landfall in the U.S., the East Coast could still get heavy rainfall associated with the storm, along with the northern Leeward Islands, the British Virgin Islands and southern and eastern Puerto Rico. Isolated flash flooding, landslides and mudslides are possible.

As the Gulf disturbance nears Texas, tropical moisture will surge Friday and Saturday in the Houston metro area, leading to increasing storm chances.

A heat advisory has been issued for the Dallas-Fort Worth area and points east, as a powerful and rapidly intensifying Hurricane Erin churns in the Caribbean.

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.

Hurricane Erin is continuing as a Category 3 after strengthening to a Category 5 on its northwestern path across the Atlantic Saturday morning.

North Texas experienced a typical summer day with mostly sunny skies and a slight chance of overnight showers. Similar conditions are expected tomorrow. Meanwhile, Hurricane Erin rapidly intensified overnight,

The center of a tropical disturbance that flared up in the Gulf began to move across land on Friday, bringing heavy rainfall to parts of northeastern Mexico and South Texas.