Hurricane Lee to Become Major Hurricane, but Path Still Unclear
Forecasters urge people in Caribbean, U.S. East Coast to keep an eye on storm’s movement
Lee is expected to produce large waves and dangerous rip currents along parts of the East Coast. PHOTO: NOAA
Lee became the fourth hurricane to form in the Atlantic Ocean this year and is expected to strengthen into a major hurricane later this week.
Forecasters say it is too early to predict the storm’s path, but some are urging people in the Caribbean and on the U.S. East Coast to keep an eye on its movement.
Lee became a Category 1 hurricane Wednesday. The storm could be the most intense hurricane so far this year as it travels from the northern Caribbean to a spot next week several hundred miles off the Carolinas, said Jonathan Porter, chief meteorologist at AccuWeather.
Forecasters couldn’t rule out the possibility of Lee making landfall or coming close to the Eastern U.S. or Canada, he said Wednesday. The storm could also turn away from the mainland and make little impact on North America.
Here is what to know about Hurricane Lee.
What is the expected path of the storm?
Lee formed as a tropical storm in the Caribbean Sea Tuesday and reached hurricane strength a day later, the National Hurricane Center said.
The storm’s core is currently expected to sweep north of the Leeward Islands, which include the Virgin Islands, Antigua, St. Martin and St. Kitts and Nevis. Forecasters said it was too soon to predict exactly where the storm could affect the island chain, even with rain bands from afar. Swells are forecast for portions of the Lesser Antilles on Friday, reaching the British and U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico over the weekend.
Lee was expected to move west-northwestward and on Wednesday next week could be a powerful Category 4 hurricane off the coast of the Carolinas, Porter said. The storm could reach peak strength over the open Atlantic Ocean at Category 5, the highest classification.
The storm’s path after that depends on wind and jet stream patterns that could either cause Lee to curve toward North America or to turn harmlessly out to sea, he said. If the storm takes aim at the mainland, it could affect the U.S. East Coast and Canada from next Thursday through Sunday.
Where is Hurricane Lee now?
The storm Thursday morning was about 950 miles east of the northern Leeward Islands, according to the National Hurricane Center. Lee had maximum sustained winds of 80 miles an hour.
Should the East Coast be worried?
The region should pay attention to Lee’s forecast, Porter said.
Still, he said, “People don’t need to panic. They just need to be aware of this as a threat.”
The storm could entirely miss the East Coast and only cause dangerous surf conditions. Forecasters said they would know in the coming days if Lee ends up tracking toward land.
The storm was expected to bypass the southeastern U.S., parts of which are reeling from last week’s Hurricane Idalia. Idalia appeared to cause less damage than feared because it came ashore in a sparsely populated region of northern Florida.
This year’s Atlantic hurricane season was expected to be more active than usual because unusually warm waters can fuel hurricanes. The other hurricanes in the Atlantic this year were Don and Franklin. Don stayed over the ocean and caused minimal damage in July, while Franklin last month killed at least one person in the Dominican Republic.