Hurricane Lee, a powerful Category 3 storm, is expected to steer well north of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands over the next couple of days, the National Hurricane Center said. But the hurricane is gathering strength and dangerous surf conditions have begun affecting stretches of the southeastern U.S. coastline.
At an early Monday advisory, the NHC said Lee was packing maximum sustained winds of close to 120 mph with higher gusts. Swells generated by Lee have affected portions of the Lesser Antilles, the British and U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, the Turks and Caicos Islands, the Bahamas and Bermuda. Those swells could cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions. Dangerous surf and rip currents are forecast to spread northward along much of the U.S. East Coast during the next couple of days.
