Forecasters warned that Hurricane Lee will be a “large and dangerous storm,” and that it will begin to deliver tropical storm-like conditions and floods to some coastal areas of New England on Friday afternoon.
The big storm has maximum sustained winds of 85 mph and is located about 460 miles south-southeast of Nantucket, Massachusetts, according to the National Storm Center’s 8 a.m. ET advisory.
Flooding along the shore will be caused by the storm surge and tide. In places like Cape Cod, Long Island Sound, Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard, the Boston Harbor, and Flushing, New York, to the Canadian border, storm surge flooding of between one and three feet is anticipated. Forecasters warned 1 to 2 feet of snow might fall from Montauk Point, New York, up to Rockaway Inlet, New York.
Last week, Lee quickly strengthened from a Category 1 to a major Category 5 hurricane before losing strength. Forecasters do not anticipate it to become stronger as it churns across the Atlantic Ocean because it is a Category 1 storm right now.
The agency stated that it should be post-tropical and start to weaken by Saturday, but warned that it is still “expected to be a large hazardous storm when it hits eastern New England & Atlantic Canada.”
A tropical storm warning is in effect for Westport, Massachusetts, all the way to the Canadian border, Nantucket, and Martha’s Vineyard. According to the EPA, there is a hurricane watch in effect for Petit Manan Point, Maine, up to the Canadian border.
On Friday morning, when Lee moves closer to the coasts of New England and Atlantic Canada, it will begin to move away from Bermuda. According to the organization, on Saturday night and into Sunday, the storm is predicted to turn and sweep across Atlantic Canada.
There have been 14 named storms this year, five hurricanes, and three major hurricanes. This year’s hurricane season is anticipated to be “above normal” in comparison to prior ones, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which highlighted “ocean and atmospheric conditions, which include record-warm sea surface temperatures.”