At 5 a.m. Sunday, Lee remains a Category 2 hurricane with 105 mile per hour sustained winds with higher gusts. Small changes in strength are expected this weekend, with Lee’s core moving north of the northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico this weekend and early next week.
Lee is tracking to the west-northwest at 9 mph. This forward motion is expected to remain the same through Friday. Dangerous surf and life-threatening rip currents are likely in the northern Leeward Islands, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, the Turks and Caicos, and the Bahamas through the weekend.
Models for next Thursday evening continue to turn Lee to the north as Margot aids to weaken a ridge of High Pressure in the Atlantic, allowing Lee to make the turn.
The two models are more consistent in Lee’s track then Margot’s. Although the core of Lee is expected to not get close to Florida, dangerous surf and rip currents are expected along most of the U.S. East Coast (including Florida) beginning Sunday.
And since we brought it up, Tropical Storm Margot is a minimal tropical storm and continues to struggle in the Atlantic.
The maximum winds are 45 mph, and Margot will likely become a hurricane by the start of the next work week. Margot will be a “fish storm” as it tracks into the northern Atlantic Ocean.
We are also tracking two areas of interest in the eastern Atlantic.
The area currently over the water to the west is a small area of low-pressure producing showers and storms SW of the Cabo Verde Islands. It will move over an area more favorable for development as it moves slowly west.
The second is a tropical wave moving off the coast of Africa. Gradual development is possible with this system during the later part of this week as it moves west to WNW.
Both areas have a low chance for development, and both at this time are not a threat to SWFL.
Just something to keep our eyes on!
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