Most hurricanes that go down in history are remembered for the devastation they bring. But with little to no chance of hitting land, Hurricane Erin will be remembered for something else: its size.

Erin, the first major hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic season, was described as “near historical” by Fox Weather meteorologist Jarrod Maloney.

Faced with warm waters and a favourable atmosphere, reconnaissance aircraft flying through Hurricane Erin on Saturday found that it rapidly intensified into a Category 5 storm just after 11:00 a.m. EDT with maximum sustained winds of 260 km/h. The storm was a Category 1 hurricane with 120 km/h winds just 24 hours earlier.

Forecasters predicted the storm would peak Thursday and said it could regain strength and once again become a major hurricane, Category 3 or greater, but it was not forecast to make landfall along the East Coast before turning farther out to sea.

13. SMALLEST HURRICANE EYE When it reached Darwin, Australia during Christmas of 1974, Cyclone Tracy had an eye 4 miles across. Tropical storm eyes are typically between 20 and 40 miles across.