Tropical Storm Lee forecast to become ‘extremely dangerous hurricane’ by weekend

A tropical storm in the central Atlantic Ocean is expected to strengthen to an “extremely dangerous” hurricane by the weekend as it approaches the Caribbean, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) warned Tuesday.

Tropical Storm Lee is about 1,300 miles east of the Leeward Islands of the Caribbean, and early forecasts show it could pass just north of the U.S. Virgin Islands by Sunday.

“It is becoming a question of when and not if rapid intensification occurs with Lee,” the NHC said in a forecast discussion.

The storm’s winds are currently blowing at about 45 mph, and are projected to increase to 145 mph by Sunday.

The NHC said it is still too early to determine exactly how strong the storm will become or where its impacts will be felt most greatly. The entire string of Leeward Islands — including the Virgin Islands, Saint Kitts, Nevis, and Guadalupe — should be on notice of the storm’s condition, the agency said.

As of Tuesday, every major storm forecast model shows Lee curving north by Monday and moving into the Atlantic Ocean, far from the U.S. East Coast. However, those projections can change with moving weather patterns and updated conditions.

The newest storm comes after Hurricane Idalia ravaged the southeast last week after making landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region on the Gulf Coast.

Hurricane Franklin also brought severe winds and rain to the Leeward Islands last week as a tropical storm before turning north and impacting Bermuda. 

Abnormally warm waters near Florida have made storms grow in strength more quickly, experts believe. Idalia battered an especially rural area of Florida where hurricanes are less common, putting the region at risk of flooding and ecological damage.