Lee targets New England and Atlantic Canada
Gene Norman, CBM
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Hurricane Lee is hanging on as a Category 1 storm with maximum winds of 85 mph. This is down from last week's dangerous Category 5 peak, and there will be little change in strength through Friday, with some gradual weakening Friday night and Saturday.
But in this case, size matters most. Lee is large, with hurricane-force winds extending 105 miles from the center and tropical-storm-force winds as far as 345 miles from the center! So, even if there isn't a U.S. landfall, there could still be impacts, especially along the coasts of Massachusetts and Maine.
Hurricane Watches (seen in light pink below) are in effect from Stonington, Maine, to the U.S./Canada border, and Tropical Storm Warnings (in purple below) are in effect from Westport, Massachusetts, northward to the U.S./Canada border and include Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. The yellow-shaded areas in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are Tropical Storm Watches.
The current forecast from the National Hurricane Center has Lee passing west of Bermuda through this evening, approaching the coast of New England and Atlantic Canada Friday and Saturday, and then moving across Atlantic Canada Saturday night and Sunday. If you're unfamiliar with this geography, Atlantic Canada is defined as: New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island.
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It's looking less likely that the storm will make landfall as a hurricane on the Maine coast. The last time that happened was with Bob in 1991.
As far away as it is from the East Coast, Lee is already sending large swells, and more are expected through the weekend. Large breaking waves of 4 to 6 feet, building to 6 to 10 feet on Friday into Saturday, pose a rip current risk, and swimmers are advised not to venture into the water.
Besides the threats at the coast and very gusty winds from eastern Massachusetts to Maine, most of New England may be spared unwelcome heavy rain. This is good news, as many parts of that region were hammered with flooding downpours earlier this week. The heaviest rains are expected in eastern and northern Maine, where amounts will range between 2 to 4 inches.
Gene Norman is a Certified Broadcast Meteorologist and consultant for WeatherCall. This nationwide company offers WeatherCall Enterprise, providing businesses with weather information needed to make critical safety decisions and HazardCall. In addition, this app lets property managers reach residents with urgent messages and site-specific weather alerts.