Hurricane Lee, now churning over the Atlantic Ocean, is forecast to rapidly intensify to an extremely dangerous major hurricane.
Lee, which strengthened from a tropical storm to a hurricane on Wednesday, could become a major Category 3 hurricane by Friday and a high-end Category 4 hurricane with winds up to 155 mph by Saturday.The storm is currently headed west, located east of the Leeward Islands. Lee is expected to move north of the Caribbean Islands over the weekend, sparing the islands any direct impacts other than rough surf and rip currents.By next week, the spaghetti models show the storm turning north before reaching Turks and Caicos. Bermuda may be in Lee's path.
Long-range models can change over the next week, but they currently show Lee moving parallel to the eastern United States coastline. If Lee stays on that course, the East Coast wouldn't see direct impacts, but would be hit with large surf and rip currents by late next week. This Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023, satellite image shows Hurricane Lee, right, off in the central tropical Atlantic Ocean.