Hurricane Lee may bring hazardous weather to East Coast as it roars north

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Hurricane Lee remained a major storm late Monday after regaining strength to a Category 3 level on Sunday.

Why it matters: Lee is forecast to miss Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Haiti as it swings sharply to the right and tears north, possibly bringing hazardous weather to the Northeast U.S. and Atlantic Canada toward the end of the week, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said on Monday.

As it progresses north, it could hit Bermuda with strong winds, rainfall and high surf between Thursday and Friday as it makes a near pass to the west of the island.

State of play: The NHC said Lee had a maximum sustained wind strength of 115 miles per hour (mph) with higher gusts at 11pm ET on Monday — making it a Category 3 storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale, though its winds had dropped slightly from earlier in the day.

The storm was 410 miles north-northwest of the Northern Leeward Islands at that time and was traveling to the west-northwest at 7 mph.

The storm’s strength is expected to fluctuate, and may increase as it remains over warm waters in the tropical Atlantic. But it should gradually weaken as it meets cooler waters to the north.

Though it is forecast to weaken, it will probably “significantly” increase in size, meaning “hazards will extend well away from the center of the storm,” the NHC said.

Threat level: Lee will continue to bring dangerous surf and life-threatening rip currents to Caribbean islands and the U.S. East Coast throughout the week.

It’s too early to forecast exactly how Lee may impact the Northeast U.S. and Atlantic Canada, though the regions could see wind and heavy rainfall as the storm expands.

Last week, Lee intensified to a Category 5 storm at one of the fastest rates on record before being disrupted by dry air, stronger upper-level winds and other factors, Axios’ Andrew Freedman reports.

Threat level: Lee will continue to bring dangerous surf and life-threatening rip currents to Caribbean islands and the U.S. East Coast throughout the week.

It’s too early to forecast exactly how Lee may impact the Northeast U.S. and Atlantic Canada, though the regions could see wind and heavy rainfall as the storm expands.

The big picture: The National Weather Service said on Monday that the Atlantic will be at the “peak” of its hurricane season this week.

To the right of Hurricane Lee, Tropical Storm Margot was strengthening on Monday with maximum sustained winds of 70 mph while traveling north at about 10 mph. Margot’s maximum sustained winds were expected to jump to 75 mph in around 12 hours, which would make it a Category 1 hurricane.

Two tropical disturbances had also formed to the southeast of Margot, one of which was given a 60% chance of developing into a cyclone over the next seven days.

The effects of human-caused climate change, specifically its rise in sea and air temperatures, are expected to make hurricanes more severe while making the rapid intensification seen with Lee more common, studies show.

Rising sea levels from melting ice sheets and glaciers and sea water expansion will also likely make storm surge, the greatest threat to life associated with hurricanes, more intense, according to NASA.

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