SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Hurricane Erin exploded in strength to a Category 5 storm in the Caribbean on Saturday, rapidly powering up from a tropical storm in a single day, the National Hurricane Center said.

While the hurricane’s center wasn’t expected to hit land, it threatened to dump flooding rains in the Caribbean.

Hurricane Erin has rapidly intensified into a category five hurricane, packing maximum sustained winds of 160mph (260km/h). National Hurricane Center Director Mike Brennan told a briefing that the "extremely powerful" storm had "explosively deepened and intensified" overnight after growing from tropical storm strength on Friday.