 Early in the storm 's development , forecasting Erika 's motion was difficult , with a persistent leftward bias in official forecasts . In response to Erika 's threat , the government of Saint Martin first issued a tropical storm warning late on September 4 . The next day , the respective governments of Antigua , Montserrat , Barbuda , Saint Kitts and Nevis , Anguilla , Dominica , Guadeloupe , and Saint Barthélemy issued tropical storm warnings for their islands . When Erika 's motion resulted in a path that would take it closer to the islands , all of the aforementioned islands excluding Guadeloupe upgraded the tropical storm warning to a hurricane warning . In addition , a hurricane watch was issued for the British and United States Virgin Islands , as well as Puerto Rico . In public advisories , the National Hurricane Center stated tropical storm conditions were likely to be experienced in the Azores . Early forecasts anticipated a threat to the island of Bermuda . 
