Hurricane Lee will brush Bermuda, target US/Canada coast by weekend

Hurricane Lee, now on an increasingly northerly course after traversing the Atlantic, will soon create tropical storm conditions for Bermuda and make a run at the coast in the northeast US and Canada by weekend, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) has last warned.

Lee remains a “very large hurricane,” the NHC warns, citing hurricane-force winds extending
up to 125 miles (205 km) from the centre and tropical-storm-force winds for up to 240 miles (390 km). That should capture Bermuda in its coming run.

“Even though the predicted track has the centre of the hurricane passing well to the west of Bermuda, Lee's very large wind field should result in tropical storm conditions spreading over the island by late Wednesday or early Thursday,” the NHC said..

Gradual weakening should follow during the “next few days” as Lee heads over cooler water and into higher wind shear, researchers said.

“However the system is likely to remain a large and  dangerous hurricane while it approaches the coast,” the NHC said.

The latest 5-day cone predictions currently put the centre of Lee at the US-Canadian coastal border late Saturday evening, uncertainty remains.

“It remains too soon to know what level of additional impacts Lee might have along the northeastern U.S. coast and Atlantic Canada late this week and this weekend.”

At 2:00 US east coast time, Lee was about 495 miles (795 km) SSW of Bermuda, bearing maximum sustained wind speeds of 115 mph (185 km/h) and traveling 320 degrees northwest at a slow 7 mph (11 km/h).

Hurricane Margo is also on the loose in the Atlantic, albeit much further east and with little movement forecast.

A broad area of low pressure over the eastern tropical Atlantic is currently given an 80% chance of developing into a tropical storm over the next even days.

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