UPDATE: September 15, 2023 at 12:55 pm
This morning, Hurricane Lee is predicted to approach New England and Atlantic Canada today through tomorrow.
The storm is expected to cause “coastal flooding accompanied by large & destructive waves” for the Southern New England coast, reports NHC Storm Surge.
According to the Hurricane Center, today, hurricane-force winds were at a maximum of ~80mph.
What category is Hurricane Lee now?
After being declared a Category 5 hurricane last week, Lee has calmed a bit and is now ranked as a Category 1 hurricane.
Will Hurricane Lee hit the East Coast? What areas will be affected by Hurricane Lee?
As it heads up the coast, Lee will still have a massive radius of damaging winds that will pound coastal New England and Canada’s Atlantic provinces.
This morning officials reported that hurricane conditions like coastal flooding are possible in portions of Southern New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Heavy rainfall could also lead to stream flooding in eastern Maine, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
Serious rip currents are expected to hit beaches off the New Jersey and Long Island coasts. “Despite the weakening that is forecast, keep in mind that the expanding wind field of Lee will produce impacts well away from the storm center,” said the National Hurricane Center.
How does Hurricane Lee compare to previous hurricanes?
While hurricanes aren’t a new phenomenon, Lee stands out from the crowd because of how quickly it has grown. After beginning as a Category 1 storm, it doubled its wind speeds in an astonishingly short time due to the warm ocean waters it was passing through.
UPDATE: September 14, 2023 at 9:17 am
This morning, Hurricane Lee is officially approaching Bermuda, unleashing harsh winds on the small island.
As of right now, it’s looking like Lee will pose more of a threat to New England and Atlantic Canada than the rest of the East Coast but it’s still a bit too far out for confirmation.
CNN says that hurricane and tropical storm watches have been issued farther north for many of New England’s coastal residents in anticipation of the colossal storm’s possible impact on Friday and through the weekend.
The storm is expected to weaken as it heads further north on its path from The Bahamas, but storm predictions show that its already massive radius is still growing while sustaining a 100mph wind power.
According to the Hurricane Center, today, hurricane-force winds extend up to 105 miles from its center, and tropical storm-force winds stretch for up to 290 miles.
As it heads up the coast, Lee will still have a massive radius of damaging winds that will pound coastal New England and Canada’s Atlantic provinces.
This morning officials reported that hurricane conditions, heavy rainfall, and coastal flooding are possible in portions of eastern Maine. The area is under a hurricane watch, as are parts of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
Parts of southeastern Massachusetts should prepare for storm surge flooding up to 4 feet late Friday and Saturday. A storm surge watch has been issued for the area, including Cape Cod and Nantucket as well as a tropical storm surge watch in Martha’s Vinyard.
UPDATE: September 11, 2023 at 5:30 pm
We’ve been having some random rainy days as of late. Are they foreshadowing what’s to come?!
According to meteorologists, Hurricane Lee is still making its way through the Atlantic Ocean. While the storm has gone back down to Category 3 since Friday, the verdict is still out on whether or not it will hit land or severely impact the East Coast and NYC.
Lee is “expected to slow down considerably over the southwestern Atlantic,” according to a statement released by The Hurricane Center this morning, but that is all to be determined after the predicted “dangerous surf and life-threatening rip currents” that are expected to affect parts of the northern Leeward Islands, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, the Turks and Caicos Islands, Bahamas, and Bermuda this week.
As previously reported, Hurricane Lee accelerated to a Category 5 storm in record time. However, since then, Lee’s stance has fluctuated, but that does not mean the threat is gone.
Jamie Rhome, deputy director of the National Hurricane Center, said to Gothamist that Lee jumped several categories in hours! “Normally, you would get about 30-to-35 miles per hour of intensity gain over a day. [With Lee], you basically got double that.”
According to weather experts, it’s still too early to confirm whether Hurricane Lee poses a threat to us in NYC. Michelle McLeod, a meteorologist from Accuweather, explains that several factors are at play, and we must wait to see how they unfold. There is a warm front in the ocean and no typical winds that would weaken a storm like this.
Additionally, the future developments of Hurricane Lee depend on the behavior of the Bermuda High (a seasonal area of high pressure over Bermuda that directs many storm systems westward across the Atlantic) and the current jet stream traveling from the West Coast. We’ll have a better understanding of Lee’s impact on the city once the high moves or remains stationary.
We’ll be sure to keep you updated on further developments of Hurricane Lee.
Original: Sep 8, 2023 at 10:10 am
Hurricane Lee‘s growth is truly remarkable and presents a significant weather challenge.
In a sudden transformation, it has rapidly intensified to a menacing Category 5 storm, with destructive maximum sustained winds reaching an astonishing 165 mph.
This update comes from the National Hurricane Center’s 5 a.m. E.T. advisory, which places the hurricane several hundred miles to the east of the Caribbean.
As of the 5 a.m. update on Friday, Hurricane Lee’s position is approximately 630 miles east of the northern Leeward Islands.
What’s particularly noteworthy is that just a day ago, Lee was a Category 1 storm, and it has now doubled its wind speeds in an astonishingly short time due to the warm ocean waters it’s passing through.
The forecast for Lee indicates that it’s not done strengthening yet. Meteorologists expect it to continue gaining power today! While there might be some fluctuations in its intensity over the next few days, it is anticipated to remain a major hurricane through early next week.
While it’s too early for specific predictions, meteorologists believe Lee will likely reach its peak intensity by the weekend. It’s expected to remain a dangerous hurricane over the southwestern Atlantic early next week. The impact on the U.S. mainland remains uncertain, but various sources have suggested potential impacts on the East Coast.
Meteorologists believe Hurricane Lee will likely stay north of the Caribbean, but there’s uncertainty about whether it might pose a threat to the United States, as forecast models indicate it could take a northern turn, but the timing and certainty of this are unclear.
“It is too early to determine the level of impacts, if any, along the U.S. East Coast, Atlantic Canada, or Bermuda late next week, especially since the hurricane is expected to significantly slow down over the southwestern Atlantic,” noted Robbie Berg, a senior hurricane specialist at The Hurricane Center, in the 11 p.m. forecast discussion on Thursday.
Lee underwent rapid intensification on Thursday, with its wind speeds surging from 80 to 160 miles per hour. The forecast suggests it will remain a major hurricane, categorized as Category 3 or higher (with winds of at least 111 miles per hour), through the early part of next week. This transformation underscores the dynamic and potentially powerful nature of this storm.
We will provide updates as more precise information becomes available regarding the storm’s direction and progression.
Stay informed and continue to monitor Lee’s progress with us.