Hurricane Lee tracker: Latest forecast as category 3 storm’s path moves north toward East Coast - The Independent

Hurricane Lee tracker: Latest forecast as category 3 storm’s path moves north toward East Coast | The Independent

Hurricane Lee slows ahead of northward turn as US East Coast remains an area of concern - latest

Lee could intensify further as it churns across warm Atlantic and up the US east coast

Louise Boyle,

Stuti Mishra,
Alex Woodward Comments

Hurricane Lee has slowed down slightly ahead of its expected turn northward as it moves away from land, the latest forecast shows.

The storm, which intensified to a Category 3 storm again as it whirls across the open Atlantic Ocean, is expected to go through “additional strengthening” within the coming days.

Lee exploded to a Category 5 storm within 24 hours last week before slowing down and reorganizing over the weekend. Just behind Lee is Tropical Storm Margot, which is predicted to reach hurricane status by Monday afternoon.

Hurricane Lee is moving well north of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and the northern Leeward Islands, though it still remains too early to determine whether the northeastern US coast and Canada could see any impacts, according to advisories from the National Hurricane Center on Sunday.

Life-threatening surf and rip conditions are expected along the East Coast, while dangerous swells generated by the storm are spreading to the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, the Turks and Caicos Islands, the Bahamas, and Bermuda.

Lee’s historic intensification from an 80 mph Category 1 to a Category 5 with 160 mph winds last week makes it one the fastest-intensifying Atlantic storms on record. Warm waters are a potent fuel for hurricanes to gain strength, a phenomenon expected to accelerate amid a growing climate crisis.
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Hurricane Lee generates 15 foot waves

Hurricane Lee reportedly has generated 15 foot waves as it moves north of the Caribbean and into the waters off the US east coast, according to the Associated Press.

High surf and dangerous rip currents have already begun for some southeastern US states as the Category 3 hurricane continues on its trajectory further north.
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Dangerous rip currents caused by Hurricane Lee begin to affect southeast US

Forecasters have warned for days that Hurricane Lee could produce dangerous rip currents on the US east coast, and those predicitions have come to pass.

The National Hurricane Centre reported Monday morning that dangerous rip currents — which can drag swimmers out to sea — have begun in the southeastern US.

“Dangerous surf and rip currents have begun to affect portions of the southeastern U.S. coast, and these conditions are forecast to spread northward along much of the U.S. East Coast during the next couple of days,” the centre warned.

Swimmers in southeastern US states should consult their local weather information providers before heading out for a swim over the next few days.
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2023 sets the record for number of billion-dollar climate disasters

The NOAA has identified 23 seperate climate and weather disasters in 2023 that caused at least a billion dollars in damages, according to the agency.

Those events include Hurricane Idalia, which struck Florida’s western shoreline near Big Bend in late August, the devastating wildfire on Maui that killed more than 100 people, and a number of lesser reported but still highly damaging weather and climate disasters.

Severe storms, tornadoes, and hail blasted the Plains states in the spring, while California saw record breaking floods between January and March.

“There have been 23 confirmed weather and climate disaster events this year, each with losses exceeding $1bn. These disasters consisted of 18 severe storm events, two flooding events, one tropical cyclone, one winter storm and one wildfire event,” the NOAA reports. “For this year-to-date period, the first eight months of 2023 rank highest for disaster count, ahead of 2020 with 16 disasters. The total cost of these events exceeds $57.6bn, and they have resulted in 253 direct and indirect fatalities.”

An NOAA map detailing the 23 climate and weather disasters that caused at least $1bn in damages in 2023
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Path of Hurricane Margot

Margot which has strengthened into a hurricane now, is expected to continue to remain in open waters.

Here’s the path the storm is following:

Tropical Storm Margot’s forecasted path as it picks up speed in the Atlantic
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Margot strengthens into a hurricane

Tropical Storm Margot intensified into a hurricane on Monday night with further strengthening forecast during the next 48 hours, the US National Hurricane Center said in its latest advisory.

The hurricane was located about 1,265 miles (2,035km) northwest of the Cape Verde Islands, packing maximum sustained winds of 75mph (120kph), the Miami-based forecaster said. Margot became a Category 1 storm Monday afternoon and was expected to continue to intensify to become the fifth hurricane of the season. It was forecast to remain over open waters.

Tropical storm Margot becomes a hurricane
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Hurricane Lee’s late-week impact on US east coast, Canada, still unknown

Hurricane’s Lee’s potential late-week impact on the US east coast and Canada is still unknown, according to the National Hurricane Centre.

“It remains too soon to know what level of impacts, if any, Lee might have along the U.S. East Coast and Atlantic Canada late this week, especially since the hurricane is expected to slow down considerably over the southwestern Atlantic,” the centre said on Monday.

It did note, however, that high surf and rip currents were still likely along the coast.
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Heavy rains and high surf possible risk for Bermuda this week

Hurricane Lee may bring heavy rains, strong winds, and high surf to Bermuda later this week as it continues its journey through the Atlantic basin and along the US east coast.

“Lee could bring wind, rainfall, and high surf impacts to Bermuda later this week. Although it is too soon to determine the specific timing and level of those impacts, interests on Bermuda should monitor the latest forecasts for Lee,” the National Hurricane Centre said in a report.

Hurricane Lee is expected to gradually shift north by the middle of the week.
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We’re in the ‘peak’ of Atlantic hurricane season

Sunday’s climatological peak of the Atlantic hurricane season – with conditions ripe for tropical storms and hurricanes – saw considerable action, with a strengthening Category 3 hurricane and soon-to-be hurricane tracking closely together, followed by two brewing systems to their west.

The “peak” date typically sees ocean waters at their highest temperatures, peak intensity in the atmosphere to generate thunderstorms, and shearing winds that can suffocate storms declining to a minimum, which tropical waves that fuel storms in the summer continue well into September.
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What happens when hurricanes ‘collide’?

Tropical Storm Margot is expected to reach hurricane status on Monday, raising the prospect of two potentially major hurricanes spinning in the Atlantic simultaneously and in similar paths.

That phenomenon, when two storms rotate around each other and spin in the same direction, is called the Fujiwhara effect. The National Weather Service describes it as “an intense dance around their common center” and potentially combine into one major storm.

The rare phenomenon occured with hurricanes Hilary and Irwin in the East Pacific in 2017.

If one hurricane is stronger than the other, the smaller one will orbit it and eventually come crashing into its vortex to be absorbed, according to the NHC.

“Two storms closer in strength can gravitate towards each other until they reach a common point and merge, or merely spin each other around for a while before shooting off on their own paths,” the center explains.
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Hurricane season, by the numbers

NOAA forecasts 12 to 17 total named storms this year, with five to nine of those storms turning into hurricanes, including up to four major hurricanes with winds of 111 mph or higher.

The season, which officially began on 1 June and will end on 30 November, already has produced 14 storms, including four hurricanes – theree of which were Category 3 or higher.

Lee is the strongest yet among them.