CNN
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Hurricane Lee Satellite images and data from a tornado-hunting aircraft on Sunday indicated that hurricane strength had returned to a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph.
The powerful storm, whose intensity has fluctuated throughout its time over the open Atlantic Ocean, is expected to become a very dangerous Category 4 storm by late Sunday or early Monday morning, according to the National Hurricane Center.
“Dangerous surf and rip currents have begun to reach parts of the southeastern U.S. East Coast and are expected to intensify and spread northward along much of the U.S. East Coast over the next two days.” National Hurricane Center he said in an update Sunday.
Hurricane Lee is expected to slow significantly as it moves north of Puerto Rico, the British and US Virgin Islands and the northern Leeward Islands, but will have an impact there and on other Caribbean islands. It is still too early to determine its long-term trajectory later this week and how significant the effects will be on the Northeastern US states, Bermuda and Atlantic Canada.
By midweek, Lee will head north, eventually moving between Bermuda and the East Coast of the United States late this week.
And the East Coast is bracing for the same kind of big waves and crushing currents that the Caribbean is now facing.
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A satellite image provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows Hurricane Lee moving in the Atlantic Ocean.
“Sea waves generated by Hurricane Lee are affecting parts of the Lesser Antilles,” the National Hurricane Center warned Friday night. The British and US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, the Turks and Caicos Islands, the Bahamas and Bermuda are also facing swells this weekend that could lead to life-threatening conditions and break waves.
Surf heights of 6 to 10 feet are expected Sunday, according to the National Weather Service office in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Larger waves are expected this week along east- and north-facing beaches.
“Beach erosion and coastal flooding are possible.” Post office On social media.
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Lee’s center was about 285 miles northeast of the Northern Leeward Islands at 5 p.m. ET Sunday, moving west-northwest at 8 mph.
for mewhich was a Category 1 storm on Thursday, It intensified exceptionally quickly to Category 5 as it moved westward across the Atlantic Ocean, doubling its wind speeds to 165 mph in just one day.
The hurricane center said vertical wind shear and an eyewall replacement cycle — a process that occurs with the majority of major, long-lived hurricanes — has since weakened the storm.
Lee’s computer model trends showed the hurricane taking a northward turn early this week. But exactly when that shift will happen, and how far Lee will be able to track it in the West by then, will play a big role in how close he will be to the United States.
Many orientation factors at the surface and upper levels of the atmosphere will determine how close Lee is to the East Coast.
Lee’s likely path next week will be determined by multiple weather factors including a strong high pressure area to the east (yellow circle) and a jet stream (silver arrows) to the west.
The high pressure area over the Atlantic Ocean, known as the Bermuda High, will have a major impact on how quickly Lee turns. A strong Bermuda high would keep Lee on its current west-northwest track and slow it down a bit.
As high pressure weakens this week, it will allow me to start moving north. Once this northward shift occurs, the location of the jet stream — strong upper-level winds capable of changing the direction of a hurricane’s path — will affect how closely Lee is pointed toward the United States.
Track scenario: A high-pressure area (yellow circle) to the east of Lee and a jet stream (silver arrows) to the west of Lee could force the storm to track between the two, away from the US coast.
Lee could quickly turn northward early this week if high pressure weakens significantly.
If the jet stream originates along the east coast, it will act as a barrier preventing Lee from approaching the coast. This scenario would keep Lee away from the US coast, but could bring the storm closer to Bermuda.
Track scenario: A high-pressure area (yellow circle) to the east of Lee and a jet stream (silver arrows) to the west of Lee could force the storm to track between the two, near the US coast.
Lee could make a slower turn to the north because high pressure remains strong, and the jet stream moves inland over the eastern United States. This scenario would leave parts of the East Coast, especially North Carolina, vulnerable to a much closer attack than Lee.
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