Hurricane Lee’s projected path and timeline: Will it hit the East Coast?
Hurricane Lee is rewriting the book for tropical storms after having ‘hyper-intensified’ briefly into a Category 5, Lee continues towards the East Coast.
Hurricane Lee continues moving west-northwest across the Atlantic, with its core “expected to move well north of the northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico” over the weekend and into next week. The National Hurricane Center says that it is too early at this time to what kind of impacts, if any, Lee might have when it reaches the East Coast.
Lee, however, has astonished hurricane watchers and experts with its rapid intensification. The standard metric for rapid intensification is that a hurricane’s maximum sustained winds jump 35 mph within a 24-hour period. Lee’s maximum sustained winds accelerated over 80 mph in 24 hours taking it up to Category 5 status by Friday.
What is a Category 5 hurricane?
Catastrophic damage to buildings, infrastructure, and vegetation. Complete destruction of mobile homes. Storm surge typically greater than 18 feet above normal means severe and widespread coastal flooding.
One of the most infamous Category 5 hurricanes was Hurricane Katrina. It made landfall in Florida in this Category though it continued to cause incredible damage when it his Louisiana at Category 3; the design of the city and its flood defence system contributed to its damage potential.
However, overnight unfavorable atmospheric conditions, including dry air and high wind shear, weakened Lee to a Category 3, but it is still a major hurricane. It is expected to slow its march toward the East Coast but predicted to regain strength rising to a Category 4 perhaps by Tuesday.
Current models keep it from making landfall on any of the northern Caribbean Islands, including Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. However, the monster storm will create large waves and dangerous rip currents, also expected to affect most of the US East Coast beginning Sunday and Monday.
Hurricane Lee’s projected path and timeline: Will it hit the East Coast?
The big question is when it will turn, forecast to happen in five days, and the route it takes as it moves north with its path expected to take it somewhere between the East Coast and Bermuda. There is the potential for landfall in northern New England or the Canadian Maritimes, but it could avoid landfall altogether.
The Floridian coast is still recovering from Hurricane Idalia which came to its shores just last week. Extra disaster assistance has been authorised with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) helping with temporary shelter, basic home repair costs, or other needs for those without insurance.
You can visit DisasterAssistance.gov online to get the support you need.