Hurricane Erin strengthened into a fearsome Category 5 hurricane with sustained winds of 160 mph for much of the day on Aug. 16 as it traveled west just north of the Virgin Islands, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The National Hurricane Center's prediction cone shows a westward trajectory, but doesn't paint a clear picture whether or not it's likely to impact the east coast of the United States. Spaghetti models, which represent a collection of predicted paths generated by multiple computer models, paint a more definitive picture as of Wednesday morning.