Terrible Storm Early on Wednesday, Lee was beginning to resemble a hurricane, and by the weekend, the National Hurricane Center predicted it would “rapidly intensify into a highly dangerous hurricane.”
The center predicted that Lee would continue to grow steadily to quickly, becoming a hurricane later on Wednesday and a major hurricane a few days later.
Forecasters believe it’s too early to predict Lee’s path across the United States, but for the time being, the Leeward Islands, where the Caribbean & Atlantic Oceans converge, should exercise caution. This weekend, according to the center, Lee could have an impact on the Leewards.
At 5 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, Lee’s core was 1,265 miles east-southeast of the northern Leewards, moving west-northwest at 14 mph, with maximum sustained winds of 65 mph. This was an increase of 15 mph in just a few hours. Lee becomes a hurricane when its sustained winds reach 74 mph.
This occurred only a few days after Hurricane Idalia wreaked havoc across the Southeast.
The storm destroyed homes and toppled power lines when it made landfall in Florida on Wednesday. Then, as it moved northeast, it battered Georgia, flooded numerous South Carolina beachfronts, and flooded the streets of Charleston. Whiteville, North Carolina, had more than 9 inches of rain, flooding the city’s structures.
At least two people died as a result of Idalia, one in Georgia and one in Florida.
Moody’s Analytics estimates that the damage and lost economic activity caused by Idalia will cost between $12 and $20 billion.