Tropical Storm Erin is expected to strengthen into a hurricane later this week in the Atlantic Ocean, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Forecasters say Tropical Storm Erin, which formed in the eastern Atlantic Ocean on Monday, is expected to become the Atlantic's first hurricane of the season. The storm formed just west of the Cabo Verde islands, off the western coast of Africa, and was moving west, the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said.

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