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.

Hurricane Erin is now a Category 5 storm, the highest on the class, rapidly intensifying overnight into early Saturday morning as it threatens the Leeward Islands and Puerto Rico, then will move along the U.

While the compact hurricane’s center was not expected to strike land, it threatened to dump flooding rains in the northeast Caribbean.