After regaining strength Sunday evening and remaining a Category 4 storm most of Monday, Hurricane Erin weakened back down to Category 3 late in the night.

Hurricane Erin on Monday bulked back up as a major Category 4 storm with an increasing wind field as it moved near the Bahamas. Meanwhile, the National Hurricane Center increased the odds a system

Tracking Hurricane Erin, the first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which weakened to a Category 3 storm early Sunday.

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Hurricane Erin became a major hurricane over the weekend and shows no signs of slowing down any time soon. The system rapidly intensified from a tropical storm on Friday into a category 5 hurricane Saturday, gaining 90 miles per hour of sustained winds in just a 24 hour period.

Hurricane Erin pelted parts of the Caribbean and was forecast to create dangerous surf and rip currents along the U.S. East Coast this week.

Hurricane Erin weakened to a Category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph as its outer bands pounded the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico with gusty winds and heavy rains early Sunday.

Hurricane Erin is forecast to continue growing in size, with hurricane-force winds extending up to 50 miles from its center.

Hurricane Erin was downgraded to a Category 3 hurricane early Sunday as a tropical storm warning was issued for the Turks and Caicos Islands and winds and heavy rains whipped the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.