Hurricane Lee Tracker: Massive Storm Pivots Toward East Coast With New England On Warning For Flooding

Hawaii’s deadly firestorm and the rise of Hurricane Idalia have helped push the United States toward a record number of weather disasters that cost at least $1 billion in 2023. And there are still four months until that which looks more like a calendar of calamities.

And NOAA’s tally doesn’t yet include damage from Tropical Storm Hilary in California and the deep drought that hit the South and Midwest, because those costs have yet to be totaled, said Adam Smith, an applied climatologist and NOAA economist who tracks billions of dollars. dollar disasters.

Hurricane Lee crosses the Atlantic, bringing strong winds and dangerous currents to parts of the Caribbean, before pivoting and moving up the eastern seaboard of the United States, potentially making landfall in Nova Scotia, Canada, on Sunday .

The National Hurricane Center graphic below shows the likely path of Hurricane Lee. Areas under a hurricane warning are marked red; hurricane watch in pink; tropical storm warning in blue; and shows tropical storm in yellow. The orange circle shows the current position of the cyclone center.

However, the NHC’s tropical cyclone forecasts have a margin of error, the agency notes.

This uncertainty is conveyed by the trajectory prediction “cone” – the solid and dotted white areas in the graph.

The solid white area represents the uncertainty of the track forecasts for days 1 to 3 of the forecast.

The dotted area represents the uncertainty of days 4 and 5.

Based on historical data, the tropical cyclone’s entire five-day center track will remain within the cone approximately 60 to 70 percent of the time.

The Bermuda government warned citizens Wednesday morning that Hurricane Lee “is a large storm and poses a threat.”

“The closest point of approach to Bermuda within 72 hours (3 days) is expected to be 165 nm (nautical miles) west (at) 1 a.m. on Friday, September 15, 2023,” officials wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

People were advised against swimming due to rip currents and “potentially life-threatening” swells produced by the hurricane.

“Finally, in Bermuda, again, at all times, please keep safety first. As we know, severe storms, by their very nature, are unpredictable,” the message concludes.

The Mediterranean storm that dumped torrential rain on the Libyan coast, causing flooding that is believed to have killed thousands, is the latest extreme weather event to bear some of the hallmarks of climate change, scientists say.

Daniel – nicknamed “medicine” for its hurricane-like characteristics – drew enormous energy from the extremely warm seawater. And a warmer atmosphere traps more water vapor that can fall as rain, experts say.

It’s difficult to attribute a single weather event to climate change, “but we know there are factors that could be at play” with storms like Daniel making that more likely, said climate scientist Kristen Corbosiero. atmosphere at the University at Albany.

Parts of Connecticut and Massachusetts were under a flash flood warning Wednesday, with radar indicating storms and an expected precipitation rate of 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 centimeters) per hour, the National Weather Service said. Additional precipitation amounts of 2 to 4 inches are possible in some areas.

Rain from Hurricane Lee did not contribute to flooding earlier this week. But it could flood parts of the northeast coast over the weekend, forecasters said. Lee is heading north and could make landfall in Nova Scotia, Canada, possibly as a tropical storm, forecasters said.

Up to 300 people were evacuated Tuesday morning in Leominster, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) northwest of Boston, Mayor Dean Mazzarella said. He said the city hasn’t seen such extensive damage since the 1936 hurricane. Most buildings downtown were flooded and some collapsed. Train service was also disrupted.

Leominster Emergency Management Director Arthur Elbthal said two out of 24 dams in the city were damaged but held. He said the city is reinforcing them.

Belk said a trained spotter near Leominster recorded 9.5 inches (24 centimeters) of rain. The single-day rainfall record in Massachusetts was set on Aug. 18, 1955, when Tropical Storm Diane dropped just over 18 inches (nearly 46 centimeters) in Westfield, Belk said.

Healey said she was closely monitoring the forecast and how Hurricane Lee could affect the state as she toured flood damage in North Attleborough, about 55 miles (89 kilometers) south of Leominster.

“It was really scary, the amount of water that was falling in a short period of time and the incredible devastation that it was causing,” Healey said, adding that she contacted the Biden administration, the U.S. congressional delegation. State and Federal Emergency Management Service. Assistance agency.

Colorado State University’s satellite program captured stunning images of Hurricane Lee as the sun rose this morning over the western Atlantic.

The Category 3 storm is expected to remain “significant and dangerous” through the weekend.

Hurricane Margot is not expected to move much over the next few days, according to the latest forecasts.

The storm is packing winds of 90 mph and is currently about 795 miles (1,280 km) west-southwest of the Azores, a string of nine small islands in the North Atlantic.

Swells generated by Margot will begin to affect the Azores later on Wednesday and are likely to cause life-threatening surf surges and rip currents on beaches.