Officials in the northern Caribbean are warning of heavy rains and dangerous swells as Tropical Storm Erin approaches the region.

The National Hurricane Center said the storm has winds of 50 miles per hour, and is expected to become a major hurricane by the weekend.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Tropical Storm Erin is churning in the Atlantic Ocean and moving toward the Caribbean, likely to become the season’s first hurricane, a storm with sustained winds above 74 miles per hour.

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.