Brief: Tropical Storm Erin is likely to become a hurricane in the next 48 hours, according to the National Hurricane Center on Aug. 12.

Erin’s sustained winds increased to 70 mph, just 4 mph shy of hurricane strength. The hurricane center said Erin should continue to strengthen through the weekend, when it should be moving near or north of the Leeward Islands, according to the official forecast path.

See Erin’s latest track, which is expected to avoid land. Distant impacts from the storm are expected in the northern Caribbean.