Tropical Storm Erin has begun strengthening as it streaks west across the Atlantic and is on track to reach hurricane status as soon as Friday, prompting tropical storm watches in the northern Leeward Islands.

BEAUMONT, Texas — Tropical Storm Erin is moving quickly westward across the Atlantic Ocean and could strengthen into a hurricane by late Thursday, prompting the National Hurricane Center to advise residents of the northern Leeward Islands, Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico to monitor the storm's progress.

Tropical Storm Erin is on the cusp of strengthening into a hurricane, which it is expected to become later this Friday, as it bears down on the northern Caribbean islands.

A Gulf disturbance has a low chance of becoming a tropical storm, but it could bring rain, high surf and deadly rip currents to the Texas coast.

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

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.

Extreme rainfall in New Zealand from future cyclones could rise by up to 35%. New high-resolution modeling predicts that rainfall from tropical cyclones will significantly increase under global warming.