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.
“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.”
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.
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.
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