Hurricane Lee To Bring 'Life-Threatening' Conditions To FL, East Coast

Updated, 4 p.m. Saturday

FLORIDA — Hurricane Lee remained a powerful Category 3 hurricane as it moved through the Atlantic Ocean on Saturday, and forecasters said the system would likely bring dangerous surf and deadly rip currents to the U.S. East Coast as early as Sunday.

Hurricane Lee became the season's first Category 5 storm early Friday, rapidly intensifying from a Category 1 only 24 hours before it eventually began to weaken. By Friday evening, the storm was down to a Category 3 but is expected to restrengthen on Sunday or Monday.

While forecasters said Lee's intensity is likely to fluctuate, the storm is expected to maintain its status as a powerful hurricane as it bypasses several Caribbean islands this weekend before turning north and remaining off the East Coast next week, forecasters said.

As of 11 a.m. Saturday, Lee's center was located about 350 miles north-northeast of the Northern Leeward Islands, according to the National Hurricane Center. The storm was moving north and west at 12 mph and packed sustained winds of 115 mph.

Since its birth in the western Atlantic Ocean, Lee has traveled more than 1,000 miles and will likely more than double that distance by early next week, Accuweather reported.

On its current track, the NHC said Lee is expected to pass well to the north of the northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico as it moves through the weekend. It's also expected to pass northeast of the Bahamas, west of Bermuda and east of the southeastern United States into the first half of next week, Accuweather reported.

While Lee isn't currently expected to make landfall, dangerous swells generated by the storm are expected to affect portions of the Lesser Antilles before spreading westward to the British and U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, the Turks and Caicos Islands, the Bahamas, and Bermuda through this weekend, according to the NHC.

The swells could cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions to develop, forecasters said.

"Starting as early as Sunday, seas and surf will build to dangerous levels along the central and northern coast of Florida and expand northward through the mid-Atlantic and New England coasts next week," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Joe Lundberg said.

The building surf could lead to pounding waves, beach erosion and even coastal flooding at times of high tide, according to Accuweather.

"We will see waves between 10 and 15 feet, so we don't want anyone on the beaches," said Ernesto Morales with the National Weather Service in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

While the National Hurricane Center said it's too early to tell what impact Lee will have on the U.S. East Coast, Accuweather forecasters said the storm could make landfall somewhere from New England to Atlantic Canada or stay out to sea while moving east of Newfoundland.

Jet stream behavior will determine which path the storm takes, according to Accuweather forecasters.

"The area in the United States that really needs to pay attention includes locations from the upper part of the mid-Atlantic coast to New England," AccuWeather Chief On-Air Meteorologist Bernie Rayno said.

U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday was given the hurricane's latest trajectory and details of preparations underway by the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency. About 4.5 million meals and nearly 8.9 million liters of water are available in Puerto Rico, and another roughly 250,000 meals and more than 600,000 liters of water in the U.S. Virgin Islands, the agency said Friday.

FEMA said it has also deployed rapid response teams to both U.S. territories as a precaution.

Lee is the 12th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30 and peaks in September.

Tropical Storm Margot became the 13th named storm after forming Thursday evening. As of Saturday morning, the storm was centered about 970 miles west-northwest of the Cabo Verde Islands. The storm had sustained winds of 45 mph and was forecast to strengthen into a hurricane early next week. It was moving west-northwest at 12 mph and is expected to remain over open water.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.