Friday 27 / December / 2024
San Juan [Puerto Rico]: Tropical Storm Lee today strengthened into a hurricane as it churned through the open waters of the Atlantic on a path that would take it near the northeast Caribbean.
The hurricane was located about 1,130 miles (1,815 kilometers) east of the northern Leeward Islands. It had maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 kph) and was moving west-northwest at 14 mph (22 kph), according to the US National Hurricane Center.
Current projections show it not making landfall but passing just northeast of the British Virgin Islands, which is still recovering from hurricanes Maria and Irma in September 2017.
Lee is the 12th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from 1 June to 30 November.
It is expected to develop into an “extremely dangerous” major hurricane by early Saturday, according to the US National Hurricane Center, which noted the storm was moving over very warm water and in a moist environment.
The hurricane is expected to generate life-threatening swells forecast to hit the Lesser Antilles on Friday and Puerto Rico and the US and British Virgin Islands this weekend, the center added. The seas around Puerto Rico could rise up to 12 feet, according to the National Weather Service in San Juan.
The National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration warned in August that this year’s (2023) season would produce an above-normal number of storms. Between 14 to 21 named storms are forecast. Of those, six to 11 could become hurricanes, with two to five of them possibly becoming major hurricanes, the agency said.
