Tropical Storm Lee is on track to tie Hurricane Franklin to become 2023’s strongest Atlantic storm with winds of 150 miles per hour by this weekend as it plows through the ocean north of Puerto Rico, the US National Hurricane Center said.
The year’s 13th storm, counting an unnamed system in January, Lee will likely become the season’s third hurricane late Wednesday before exploding in strength in the next four days reaching Category 4 on the five-step, Saffir-Simpson scale.
The Atlantic is so far having a more active storm season that normal. The 13th storm usually arrives by Oct. 25, the third hurricane by Sept. 7 and the third major hurricane, with winds of 111 mph or more, by Oct. 28, if it comes at all. Record warm water across the Atlantic has provided fuel for storms this year pushing them ahead of pace.
Related: NOAA Increases Prediction for Atlantic Hurricane Season to “Above-Normal”
Despite its power, Lee is currently forecast to miss inhabited areas as it drifts northwest through the ocean in the next five days, though Bermuda should remain vigilant.
In addition to Lee, there are two other potential storms brewing in the Atlantic, and in the Pacific, Hurricane Jova continues to build strength far off the coast of Mexico.
Further to the west, Tropical Storm Yun-yeung could gain strength and graze Japan’s east coast later this week, where warnings for heavy rain and landslides have been posted.
Topics Windstorm
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