New England is just hours away from feeling the first impacts from Hurricane Lee as the powerful storm accelerates north Friday morning, carrying a range of dangerous weather including strong winds and powerful surf to last through at least Saturday.
While the center of the storm will likely stay east of the U.S. and move into the Canadian Maritimes, Lee’s massive wind field spreads hundreds of miles across and will not spare the New England coast from its wrath, the FOX Forecast Center said. Conditions will deteriorate Friday evening, and be at their worst on Saturday before rapidly winding down late Saturday into early Sunday morning.
In Massachusetts, preparations are racing to completion in places like Cape Cod as Lee’s impacts are expected to be felt through the weekend.
Boat owners began tying down their vessels or removing them completely from the harbors in hopes of saving the ships from destruction from powerful winds and waves.
Tropical Storm Warnings are in effect for a significant portion of the New England Coast, while a Hurricane Watch is in place for Downeast Maine east of Bar Harbor. This marks the first time a Hurricane Watch has been issued for Downeast Maine since Hurricane Kyle in 2008.
The current forecast has Lee making landfall likely along the western shores of Nova Scotia or perhaps the extreme southwestern corner of New Brunswick, with a sliver of eastern Maine on the edge of the cone. But Lee is so large the exact landfall location of the storm will have minimal change on expected impacts.
“Looking at the cone, you’ll notice it’s going to be very skinny,” Merwin added. “The impacts will be outside the cone, especially when it comes to the wind because the wind field is growing with this storm.”
People living in the warned areas of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine can anticipate wind gusts of 50-65 mph along the coastlines as Hurricane Lee makes its closest pass Saturday. These strong winds have the potential to cause power outages, fallen trees and areas of coastal flooding. In areas just a little further inland, wind gusts of 40-50 mph are expected.
“For consistent tropical storm-force winds, we’re talking about Cape Cod, Nantucket, and the stretch up toward coastal areas of Maine,” FOX Weather meteorologist Britta Merwin said. “Once you get inland like across Vermont and inland locations of New Hampshire, we’re talking about tropical storm force wind gusts.”
The strongest onshore winds are expected to occur before high tide which should limit the coastal flood threat. Still, minor flooding is expected during the time of high tide around midday Saturday. Huge breaking waves will lead to beach erosion and minor inundation along the immediate coast.
HURRICANE LEE TIMELINE TRACKER
While Lee bypassed the pink-sand beaches of Bermuda, the storm lashed the islands with rain, wind and waves in recent days.
The strong winds, with gusts of up to 51 miles per hour, caused power outages throughout the island on Thursday afternoon.
Meanwhile, dangerous and rough surf are already hitting much of the East Coast and will continue as the Category 1 hurricane moves north offshore.
By Thursday evening, swells and rough surf were already spotted along the Southeast coasts. The Outer Banks in North Carolina felt overwash along Highway 12 well over an hour before high tide was expected.
As of Friday morning, a Coastal Flood Warning and High Surf Advisory will remain in effect for the North Carolina coasts through Sunday.
Beaches from Florida to the Northeast will see these big waves and deadly rip currents all week. The large swells slamming into East Coast beaches will also lead to widespread beach erosion.
FLORIDA COMMUNITY REPORTS FIRST FATALITY CONNECTED TO HURRICANE LEE
The storm will not produce significant flooding rains due to its forecast track and fast motion, but some places along the coast in Maine could pick up 3 to 5 inches of rain over the weekend.