Hurricane Lee weakened barely Friday to a still-major Category 4 storm, whereas the East Coast is at risk as its path and potential impacts stay unsure.
The large storm is transferring about 500 miles off the northern Leeward Islands, transferring west-northwest at about 13 miles per hour – however is predicted to decelerate over the weekend and from subsequent week.
Winds are at the moment blowing at 150 miles per hour – just under the 157 mph threshold for a Category 5.
“This is still a major, powerful hurricane, and it is expected to gain approximately the same level of strength over the next five days,” Fox News meteorologist Stephanie van Oppen instructed the Post Friday night time.
According to the National Hurricane Center’s five-day forecast, the storm would slowly transfer northwest, between the Bahamas and the japanese United States, by the center of subsequent week.
The East Coast shouldn’t be anticipated to expertise potential results reminiscent of harmful surf circumstances earlier than then and can seemingly be spared a direct hit from Lee, van Oppen mentioned.
The storm system is predicted to ultimately monitor north, seemingly Tuesday or Wednesday.
“There is a lot of disagreement in forecast models about when this northward shift is expected to occur and that will make all the difference to the East Coast – whether we see direct impacts or just coastal wave heights and rip currents from the system,” she defined.
“At the moment it is too early to say what might happen in New York or Boston, but it seems very unlikely that a direct impact will occur,” van Oppen added.
Meanwhile, the National Weather Service issued an alert for doubtlessly life-threatening rip currents and rising seas starting from 10 to fifteen toes over the weekend alongside the coasts of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The US Federal Emergency Management Agency has deployed assets within the territories, the White House introduced Thursday.
There are at the moment no watches or warnings in impact for Caribbean landmasses, in keeping with Fox Weather.
Lee is predicted to overlook Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas, that are nonetheless recovering from Hurricane Idalia’s landfall on the Gulf Coast.
The hurricane shortly intensified into the primary Category 5 hurricane of the season Thursday night time, with winds reaching 165 miles per hour.
Lee is the twelfth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which lasts from June 1 to November 30 and peaks in September.
Tropical Storm Margot turned the thirteenth named storm after forming Thursday night about 300 miles off the coast of Cape Verde in Africa. It is predicted to change into a hurricane subsequent week.
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