However, its path after that remained unclear. This scenario would keep Lee farther away from the US coast but could bring the storm closer to Bermuda.Lee was forecast to take a northward turn by Wednesday. If the jet stream sets up along the East Coast, it will act as a barrier that prevents Lee from approaching the coast. Lee could make a quick turn to the north early next week if high pressure weakens significantly. Once that turn to the north occurs, the position of the jet stream – strong upper-level winds that can change the direction of a hurricane’s path – will influence how closely Lee is steered to the US. The Bermuda High is expected to remain very strong into the weekend, which will keep Lee on its current west-northwestward track and slow it down a bit.Īs the high pressure weakens next week it will allow Lee to start moving northward. Lee's potential track next week will be determined by multiple atmospheric factors including a strong area of high pressure to its east (yellow circle) and the jet stream (silver arrows) to its west.Īn area of high pressure over the Atlantic, known as the Bermuda High, will have a major influence in how quickly Lee turns. Several steering factors at the surface and upper levels of the atmosphere will determine how close Lee will get to the East Coast. But exactly when that turn occurs and how far west Lee will manage to track by then will play a huge role in how close it gets to the US. How close will Hurricane Lee get to the US?Ĭomputer model trends for Lee have shown the hurricane taking a turn to the north early next week. All seven ocean basins where tropical cyclones can form have had a storm reach Category 5 strength so far this year, including Hurricane Jova, which reached Category 5 status in the eastern Pacific earlier this week. The Atlantic is not the only ocean to have spawned a monster storm in 2023. Lee is the 8th Category 5 since 2016, meaning 20% of these exceptionally powerful hurricanes on record in NOAA’s hurricane database have come in the last seven years. Reaching Category 5 strength has become more common over the last decade. Sea-surface temperatures across the portion of the Atlantic Ocean that Lee is tracking through are a staggering 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above normal after rising to “far above record levels” this summer, according to David Zierden, Florida’s state climatologist. Lee had all of these, especially warm water amid the warmest summer on record. Hurricanes need the perfect mixture of warm water, moist air and light upper-level winds to intensify enough to reach Category 5 strength. What rapid intensification means for hurricanes Hurricane Dorian lashed the Carolinas with driving rain and fierce winds as it neared the US east coast Thursday after devastating the Bahamas and killing at least 20 people. Lee, which was a Category 1 storm Thursday, intensified with exceptional speed in warm ocean waters, more than doubling its wind speeds to 165 mph in just a day.Īn aerial view of damage from Hurricane Dorian on September 5, 2019, in Marsh Harbour, Great Abaco Island in the Bahamas.
It’s too soon to know whether this system will directly impact the US mainland, but the storm will create dangerous coastal conditions like rip currents and large waves along the East Coast as soon as Sunday regardless of its final track. “Some fluctuations in intensity are likely over the next few days, however Lee is expected to remain a powerful major hurricane through early next week,” the National Hurricane Center said. The hurricane, now a Category 3 storm that briefly strengthened to a rare Category 5 in the Atlantic Ocean, is packing destructive maximum sustained winds of 115 mph and is about 440 miles east of the northern Leeward Islands as of 11 p.m.
Hurricane Lee maintained major hurricane status Friday evening as the powerful storm’s indirect – yet dangerous – impacts were expected to reach the waters of the East Coast as early as this weekend.
0 kommentar(er)
