Hurricane Lee Strengthens and Poses Potential Threat to Bermuda
CNN – Hurricane Lee has intensified and is now a Category 3 hurricane, according to the National Hurricane Center. As of Tuesday afternoon, the storm was located about 545 miles south of Bermuda, with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph.
The hurricane has been growing in size since the weekend, with hurricane-force winds now extending 90 miles from its center, three times farther than on Saturday. Additionally, tropical storm-force winds now extend 205 miles from the core, and have grown 20 miles in just six hours on Tuesday morning.
While Lee is expected to weaken somewhat as it moves over cooler waters churned up by Hurricane Franklin, it is also simultaneously growing in size and increasing its speed. This means that a larger Hurricane Lee could potentially impact a more widespread area, even if its winds do not reach monster hurricane levels. The Eastern Seaboard is particularly at risk, although a direct landfall is not expected.
The National Hurricane Center Director, Michael Brennan, has warned that tropical storm-force winds could extend over 300 miles from Lee’s center later in the week. This could result in potentially damaging wind gusts reaching portions of the northeastern US, even if the center of the storm stays a couple hundred miles off the coast.
The exact timing and extent of Lee’s impacts in the US and Canada are still uncertain, but the storm is expected to bring big waves and coastal erosion along the East Coast. Dangerous surf and life-threatening rip currents are also expected at beaches throughout the week.
Already, dangerous surf has been reported along the southeastern US coast and in many Caribbean islands. A high risk of rip currents is in effect from Florida to Massachusetts, and rip currents have already claimed 71 lives in the US this year.
Lee is forecasted to turn north on Wednesday and pick up its pace. It will make its closest approach to Bermuda on Thursday and Friday, bringing strong winds, heavy rain, and dangerous surf to the island. The Bermuda Weather Service has issued a tropical storm watch, meaning tropical storm conditions are possible within the next 48 hours. Tropical storm-force wind gusts are expected to hit Bermuda from Thursday morning into Friday, with the possibility of localized flash flooding. Seas around the island will also become hazardous with large waves.
While the exact track of the storm may still change, residents along the East Coast and in Bermuda are urged to monitor the progress of Hurricane Lee and prepare accordingly.