Hurricane Lee has rapidly intensified to a major hurricane in the Atlantic Ocean, and all eyes look to its track as those on the East Coast hope for a dramatic pull north.
An 11:00 a.m. advisory from the National Hurricane Center (NHC) showed the massive storm moving west-northwest with winds of 155 mph. Pressure is down to 942 mb, signaling a very strong storm which could cause “extensive” damage.
“Lee, which was a Category 1 storm Thursday, intensified with exceptional speed in warm ocean waters, doubling its wind speeds in just a day,” according to CNN Weather.
The storm remains a strong Category 4 storm as of Friday morning after surging to a Category 5 overnight.
11AM AST Sep 8: #Lee expected to remain a powerful hurricane through early next week. Dangerous beach conditions expected to develop around the Western Atlantic through early next week. Visit https://t.co/tW4KeGdBFb for the latest information pic.twitter.com/DeRjXe6aQd
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) September 8, 2023
“Lee’s core is expected to move well north of the northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico this weekend and early next week,” the NHC’s update reads, warning of “dangerous surf and life-threatening rip currents” for the Leeward Islands on Friday.
“These conditions will spread westward and northward, affecting Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, the Turks and Caicos, the Bahamas, and Bermuda through the weekend,” NHC said.
The NHC said it is still “way too soon to know what level of impacts, if any, Lee might have along the East coast, Atlantic Canada, or Bermuda late next week,” noting that the storm is expected to “slow down considerably over the southwestern Atlantic.”
However, it notes there will be “dangerous surf and rip currents: along most of the East Coast beginning Sunday.”
Hurricane Lee is already a CATEGORY 5 hurricane with minimum pressure below 928 mb. This tropical cyclone is going haywire pic.twitter.com/NJzhhAeK5m
— Reed Timmer, PhD (@ReedTimmerAccu) September 8, 2023
Current models show the storm pulling north, providing an escape for the southeast United States, with continued uncertainty for the northeast. However, NHC warns that everyone should continue to monitor this storm.
Even though almost all of the ensemble blend members don't touch the USA, its all about the trends at this point versus actual individual operational model output. Therefore, lets watch how the some of these western players shake out. The farther west we go the harder it is to… pic.twitter.com/Pac9to0e9E
— Jim Cantore (@JimCantore) September 8, 2023
From next Tuesday forward, there is considerable spread in the guidance and below is just the ECMWF members! Enough so that we go from pretty high confidence down to zero heading into late next week and next weekend. Is eastern North America in play? Absolutely, but its very… pic.twitter.com/9u3mMXbF12
— Jim Cantore (@JimCantore) September 8, 2023
This storm follows Hurricane Idalia, which made landfall in the Big Bend region of Florida last month before plowing through Georgia and the Carolinas.
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@KathleenCuller / WEATHER TRAKER /TMXThis story is developing.
