A major hurricane could hit the Caribbean this weekend. Tropical Storm Lee, located just over 1,200 miles east of the Lesser Antilles with maximum sustained winds of 65 mph, is forecast to become a major hurricane—possibly a Category 4, with winds in excess of 140 mph—by late this week, impacting northern Caribbean islands.
Although the National Hurricane Center (NHC) says “it is too soon to determine the location and magnitude of these potential impacts, interests in the area should monitor the progress of Lee and further updates to the forecast.”
Weather.com reports that Lee will most likely pass to the north of the northern Leeward Islands—which includes the U.S. and British Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico—bringing “a brush of gusty winds and showers,” but it doesn’t rule out that a direct hit “with more serious impacts.”
Into next week, the storm could curve back into the Atlantic—but this would still bring dangerous high surf and rip currents to the Bahamas, north-facing coasts of Hispaniola, the East Coast and Bermuda.
Lee became the 13th named storm of the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season on Tuesday, which is more than seven weeks earlier than the average 13th named storm for the average Atlantic season (as tracked from 1991 to 2020), according to the NHC. If, and when, it becomes a hurricane, it would be the fourth of the season, beating the average by about one week.
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