Tropical Storm Lee could potentially strengthen into an “extremely dangerous major hurricane” within the Atlantic Ocean by this weekend, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) reports.
Forecasters are monitoring the tropical storm’s path and “are confident” that it should next careen toward the Leeward Islands, a cluster of islands that features the U.S. Virgin Islands and is situated where the Atlantic meets the Caribbean Sea, in keeping with The Washington Post.
The NHC projects that Lee could reach “hurricane strength very soon, and to a significant hurricane inside 48 hours,” the NHC wrote in its Wednesday (Sept. 6) forecast. “Continued strengthen[ing] seems likely after that point, but hard-to-predict eyewall alternative cycles could cause some fluctuations in intensity later within the weekend and early next week.”
Related: Hurricane Idalia slams into Florida as astronauts and satellites track it from space (video, photos)
Currently, Lee is situated roughly 1,200 miles (1,930 kilometers) east of the northern Leeward Islands, with winds at roughly 70 mph (113 km/h), and is sweeping west-northwest at 14 mph (22 km/h), in keeping with the forecast.
Lee became a tropical storm on Tuesday (Sept. 5) after forming over the central tropical Atlantic, in keeping with the NHC. If it reaches at the very least 74 mph (119 km/h), it should be considered a Category 1 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.
As Lee continues its momentum to the west-northwest, favorable conditions will likely help it turn into a full-fledged hurricane, including “loads of moisture, low wind shear and abnormally warm water [that] stretch nearly your complete length of [its] projected path,” CNN reported.
Lee isn’t expected to affect the USA presently, in keeping with CBS News.
It might be the fourth tropical storm to turn into a hurricane this season, following within the paths of Don, Franklin and Idalia, in keeping with CNN.