Hurricane Lee is expected to escalate significantly over the course of the week as it barrels down the US East Coast.
While meteorologists are still unsure whether the eye of the twister will make landfall, the storm’s effects are already being felt as it continues to send dangerous tidal waves from the Bahamas to Florida and the Carolinas.
And with Hurricane Lee barreling across the Atlantic Ocean and expected to turn north by midweek, several intense thunderstorms have split off, causing travel chaos and flash flooding in New York and New England.
As of Tuesday morning, Lee was about 570 miles (920 kilometers) south of Bermuda and was registered as a Category 3 hurricane with winds of 115 mph (185 km/h). according to the National Hurricane Center.
Models show the hurricane’s path narrowly passing Bermuda by midweek before turning northward over the Mid-Atlantic states and New England by the end of the weekend.
Hurricane Lee escalated from a Category 1 to a Category 5 hurricane on Thursday night, sparking fears it could tear apart the East Coast
More than 35 inches of rain fell in Leominster, Massachusetts on Monday, flooding entire cars and prompting officials to urge residents to evacuate
The storm system alerted forecasters last week when it strengthened from a Category 1 hurricane to a Category 5 hurricane overnight Thursday.
Meteorologists have apparently gone back and forth on whether the hurricane will make landfall, but the tornado’s effects will still ravage the East Coast this week.
Tropical storm force winds are expected to extend more than 300 miles from the storm’s center in the coming days, Michael Brennan, director of the National Hurricane Center, said in an update Monday.
“The magnitude is still expected to increase significantly, and by the end of the forecast period, hazards will extend well beyond the storm center,” the weather service said.
“There is still a lot of uncertainty about the exact track of how close it will come to the coast of New England and Atlantic Canada in the coming days,” Brennan said, before adding that there “certainly remains a chance for significant implications’. a growing storm.’
The dangerous surf has not only affected the southeastern US, but regions of the Gulf Coast and the Caribbean have also been put on alert.
On Monday, the hurricane produced waves of more than 15 feet high in open waters north of the Caribbean, but the NHC said “it is too early to determine the specific timing and level of those impacts.”
Forecasters have struggled to determine the exact path and strength of Hurricane Lee, leading to varying estimates about the extent of damage it could cause.
Forecasters say the hurricane will continually strengthen and weaken as it moves toward the U.S., partly through a process called an “eyewall replacement cycle.”
The event causes the twister’s eye to narrow and strengthen as it accelerates, until it reaches a peak speed and a new eyewall forms around the center. When this happens, the storm slows down and expands its range.
Although a natural process, the hurricane’s expanding reach has led to varying estimates of the amount of damage the storm could cause.
Last Wednesday, the NHC warned: “Most intensity models are very aggressive, pushing Lee to major hurricane status this weekend.”
In a forecast two days later, the center overruled this prediction, conceding that “it is far too early to know what level of impact, if any, Lee could have along the US East Coast, Atlantic Canada or Bermuda late next year.” week’.
The forecaster added that this could be because “the hurricane is expected to slow significantly over the southwestern Atlantic Ocean.”
The day after Hurricane Lee worryingly strengthened to a Category 5 storm within hours, the eye of the storm was captured in breathtaking footage by the US Air Force as meteorologists tracked waves up to 50 feet high near the hurricane’s center.
Powerful thunderstorms swept across the Northeast over the weekend, causing flash flooding and travel chaos that was still visible as of Tuesday morning.
Shocking images showed torrential, waist-deep floodwaters flowing through Cumberland, Rhode Island, as the northeastern region was hit on Monday
A massive sinkhole opened up in the central Massachusetts city, which one woman says she and her vehicle almost fell into due to the heavy current
The severe weather caused damage to the Barrett Park Dam in Leominster, leading to evacuations of the city by emergency services
Severe flood warnings remain in effect across central Massachusetts, which officials say could be life-threatening — though there have been no reports of deaths in the region due to the severe weather.
Parts of Lower Leominster — about 50 miles from Boston — were evacuated Tuesday as flooding caused problems with the Barrett Park Dam.
The city’s mayor, Dean Mazzarella, said more than 35 centimeters of rain flooded the area, and shocking images showed deep water submerging cars and rushing through the streets at high tides.
‘Everything is one big lake,’ Mazzarella said Monday. ‘Find a high place somewhere. Find a high place and stay there until this is over.”
Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey also sent emergency boat rescue and response teams to the city.
“My heart goes out to the residents and public safety officials in Leominster and other communities experiencing catastrophic flooding tonight,” she posted on X (formerly Twitter).
Similar dangerous scenes were seen in footage from Cumberland, Rhode Island, as residents were forced from their homes amid torrential, waist-deep flooding.
One person who shared images of the flash flood said he has “lived here for 20 years and it has never flooded this bad.”
In another image shared on social media, a huge sinkhole had opened up in the city of 40,000, with one woman saying she was lucky not to fall into it due to the high currents.
The worst of the storms hit Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and more wet and wild weather was expected to persist in New England throughout the week.
A flash flood warning was extended in Leominster until Tuesday due to the storms
Further disruption is expected throughout the week, worsening as the storm turns north by mid-week.
With the system’s reach still uncertain, regions from Bermuda to Atlantic Canada are on alert.
Amid uncertainty about the storm’s path, computer-generated models in recent days have shown that the storm may hit major cities like New York City and Boston, while also having the potential to return to the Atlantic Ocean.
However, similar reassuring models have tragically backfired in the past. In 2017, meteorologists predicted that Hurricane Irma would turn toward the ocean before ravaging Florida’s Gulf Coast and causing at least 92 deaths.
The ‘eyewall replacement cycle’ seen during Hurricane Lee could cause widespread damage, but the timing of the replacement is critical. The process saved many Floridians last month when Hurricane Idalia hit Florida’s Gulf Coast.
Although the hurricane caused significant damage and led to at least two deaths, experts warned that the damage could have been much worse as the hurricane spun and slowed thanks to the natural phenomenon.
However, the timing of the replacement could make it stronger than previous levels, which have been described by Ryan Maue, a meteorologist and former chief scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as: “Like a figure skater pulling her arms in instead of stretching out her arms, Hurricane runs with much more energy, power and ferocity when closely watched.”