Hurricane Lee Thursday was moving toward eastern New England and the Atlantic coast of Canada and is expected to make landfall over the weekend, forecasters said. The Category 1 stormLast week grew to a point Type 5 Strength, according to the National Hurricane Center, was expected to be “a very large and dangerous hurricane” as it continued on a track to the north.
Lee prompted the issuance of a tornado watch for Maine for the first time since 2008, CBS News senior weather and climate producer David Parkinson said. Tornado conditions are possible in downtown East Maine on Saturday, the Hurricane Center said Thursday.
Coastal areas from New York’s Long Island to the U.S.-Canada border, including Boston Harbor, Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket in Massachusetts, could see storm surges of 1-3 feet if the surge peaks at the same time, forecasters warned. High tide.
Robert F. Bugatti / AP
The storm is expected to make landfall between Saturday and Sunday, The Weather Channel’s meteorologist Stephanie Abrams said Thursday on “CBS Mornings.” Lee was expected to dump rain on already saturated ground, leading to flash flooding.
“This storm will affect more than just the coast,” Abrams said. “… Winds will pick up on Friday, pick up throughout the day on Saturday, and then begin to ease as we head into Sunday.”
NOAA/NESDIS/STAR GOES-EAST
What type of Hurricane Lee?
As of 5 p.m. EDT Thursday, Lee was a Category 1 storm with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph, according to the hurricane center.
Hurricane-force winds extended 105 miles from Lee’s center and tropical-storm-force winds extended 345 miles from the center. A buoy located 75 miles west of Lee’s center measured sustained winds of 67 mph for one minute.
Hurricanes are rated Types 1 to 5 Based on its maximum sustained wind speed. Although Category 1 storms are considered the lowest rating, the Hurricane Center says they are “extremely dangerous” and can damage homes and power lines and last for days.
Hurricane Lee’s “Cone of Uncertainty”
The Hurricane Center issues forecast cones for tropical cyclones that show the likely path of the storm’s center. The forecast cone is sometimes called the “cone of uncertainty” because the center of the storm has historically moved outside the likely path about “one-third of the time”. According to the Center. Officials are urging people not to focus entirely on the center of the storm, as its impact will be felt hundreds of miles away.
The forecast cone for Lee shows the potential for landfall between its center in eastern Maine and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
National Hurricane Center
Where is Hurricane Lee?
The storm’s center was 210 miles west of Bermuda and 665 miles south of Nantucket, Massachusetts, the hurricane center said. Lee was moving north at 15 mph.
Ahead of the storm, a tornado watch was in effect for Stonington, Maine, the US-Canada border and parts of eastern Canada. The watch is for hurricane conditions to be possible for the area.
A tropical storm warning has been issued from Westport, Massachusetts along the US-Canada border, including Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, the Hurricane Center said. A warning has been issued that tropical storm conditions are expected in the area within 36 hours.
Meanwhile, a tropical storm watch was in effect for parts of eastern Canada. The watch is for tropical storm conditions possible within 48 hours.
