Tropical update: Lee to rapidly intensify, where will it go?

Oh, the tropics! Mother Nature knows how it goes. As we approach the peak of hurricane season, which by the way happens on September 10, seems like there will definitely be a hurricane swirling in the Atlantic on that date.

Tropical Storm Lee was officially named on Tuesday after Labor Day. It is set to continue to intensify on Wednesday, and likely reach hurricane status by the evening. 24 hours later it will likely be a major hurricane, still moving slowly to the northeast. This would make it the second hurricane of the season to go through rapid intensification this year over the Atlantic Basin. Lee would be the third major hurricane of this season, along with Franklin and Idalia.

Lee is forecast to become a Major Hurricane by the weekend. We are already experiencing a well above-average hurricane season so far, with 13 named systems. The average number of named systems is 7.

Its center is likely to stay a safe distance away from the northeastern Caribbean islands. Nonetheless, it will bring very rough seas to the Lesser Antilles, especially for the northern portions, Puerto Rico, and the northern coast of Hispaniola in the coming days.

Lee will give us lots to talk about, and lots for speculation to the hypers. So, let’s state the facts.

The final trajectory is still unknown, but we are leaning more to a slow turn to the north happening between Monday and Tuesday, well before coming remotely close to Florida. There is a high-pressure system located over the northern Atlantic, and likely a cold front exiting the U.S. just in time that will sweep it away and allow it to make the turn before it reaches the Southeastern U.S.

In a more extended range, for about the end of next week (September 15ish), this system could come closer to the Northeast or Southeastern Canada. Please be aware that we are talking about very long-range models and things can and will change, but residents in the Northeast should be monitoring this storm after this weekend.

Lee will bring impacts across the Eastern U.S. coastline. The storm will be not only stronger but also much wider. Waves will be rough and seas very choppy. There could also be strong and dangerous rip currents as Lee navigates parallel to the Eastern Seaboard in the next 7 to 9 days.

There is another tropical wave, Invest 96L, that just exited western Africa and will likely become the next named system of the season. There is a medium chance for this disturbance to be named within the next 7 days. It is forecast to come over the Cabo Verde Islands by Thursday and conditions will gradually become more conducive for development as it moves west-northwest. There is plenty of time to monitor this disturbance.

We will continue to bring you prompt updates on our app and on all of our social media platforms throughout the week and weekend. Check your hurricane plans. Enjoy the short week and the weekend.