Hurricane Lee downgraded to Category 3
Hurricane Lee exploded into a powerful Category 5 storm within 24 hours as it whirled across the open Atlantic Ocean but has been downgraded to a Category 3, though forecasters predict the storm could gain strength over the weekend and into next week.
“Confidence in the intensity forecast is low at the moment, although it is likely that Lee will remain a dangerous hurricane for at least the next [five] days,” according to the National Hurricane Center.
It remains “too soon to know” what its potential impacts “if any” along the US Atlantic seaboard could look like, though “dangerous surf and rip currents are expected” on Sunday and Monday and could “worsen” in the coming week, the center announced.
The storm is expected to pass “pass well to the north of the northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico into early next week,” according to a Saturday afternoon advisory. Maximum sustained winds are near 115 mph with higher gusts, and gradual “restrengthening” is possible during the next couple of days.
“Life-threatening surf and rip current conditions” are expected to reach the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, the Turks and Caicos Islands, the Bahamas, and Bermuda through the weekend, while “dangerous surf and rip currents” are expected along the US East Coast on Sunday and Monday and are likely to worsen through the week.
