Tropical Storm Lee Expected to Become an “Extremely Dangerous” Category 5 Hurricane by Weekend

Tropical Storm Lee is expected to strengthen into an “extremely dangerous” hurricane by the weekend, according to the National Hurricane Center. The storm rapidly intensified into a Category 5 storm on Thursday night as it approached Caribbean islands. “Life-threatening” conditions are expected to develop in the coming days. Lee is currently located about 705 miles east of the northern Leeward Islands with maximum sustained winds of 160 mph. Forecasters predict that Lee could become a “monster 180 mph” storm by Friday morning. It is expected to pass north of the Leeward Islands, Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico over the weekend and into early next week. The National Hurricane Center has warned of dangerous beach conditions in the Western Atlantic through early next week. Lee is the 12th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season. In addition to Lee, Hurricane Jova continues to churn in the Pacific as a Category 4 storm but poses no threat to land. Another tropical storm named Margot has formed in the Atlantic and is expected to become a hurricane over the weekend. Hurricane Lee’s rapid intensification has made it one of the fastest intensifying hurricanes ever observed in the Atlantic. If it reaches a speed of 180 mph, it would only be the ninth storm in the Atlantic to achieve that level. The intensification of hurricanes has been attributed to El Nino conditions, which are expected to strengthen this year and increase the likelihood of extreme weather events. The Atlantic hurricane season is predicted to be above-normal, with a forecast of 14 to 21 named storms and six to 11 hurricanes.