The chances that rain and wind from Tropical Storm Erin will hit the East Coast have risen slightly this week.

Hurricane Erin is currently not forecast to hit land, but strong winds are affecting nearby islands, prompting forecasters to warn of possible flooding and landslides.

The first hurricane of the season is likely to form in the Atlantic Ocean this week. This system developed into Tropical Storm Erin today but remains very far from Texas in the eastern Atlantic. Through the week,

Tropical Storm Erin, now spinning far out in the central Atlantic Ocean, could undergo rapid intensification into a powerful 125-mph hurricane.

The National Hurricane Center is predicting Invest 97L could become a tropical depression or tropical storm as early as later this morning, Aug. 11.

Tropical Storm Erin -- which is forecast to strengthen into the first hurricane of the Atlantic season by Saturday morning -- won't have a direct impact on the U.S., but it will bring dangerous rip currents to the East Coast.