Hurricane Lee regains strength over open waters, has eyes on Nova Scotia
Hurricane Lee barreled over open waters Sunday night just northeast of the Caribbean, unleashing heavy swell on several islands as it regained some strength and expanded in size.The Category 3 storm is not forecast to make landfall and is expected to stay over open waters through Friday. According to the latest hurricane track from the Canadian Hurricane Centre, the storm appears to be heading toward Nova Scotia.Late Sunday, it was centered about 310 miles (500 kilometers) north of the northern Leeward Islands.
Its maximum sustained winds were clocked at 120 mph (195 kph) and it was moving northwest at 8 mph (13 kph).Last week, Lee strengthened from a Category 1 storm to a Category 5 storm in just one day.“We had the perfection conditions for a hurricane: warm waters and hardly any wind shear,” said Lee Ingles, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in San Juan.By Saturday night, it had slowed to a Category 2 hurricane, but began restrengthening Sunday. Lee is expected to strengthen further in upcoming days and then weaken again, the U.S.
the National Hurricane Center said.The center of Lee also was growing in size, with hurricane-force winds extending outward up to 75 miles (120 kilometers) from the center and tropical storm-force winds extending outward up to 175 miles (280 kilometers).Breaking waves of up to 20 feet (6 meters) were forecast for Puerto Rico and nearby islands starting early this week, with authorities warning people to stay out of the water. Coastal flooding also was expected for some areas along Puerto Rico’s north coast and the eastern portion of St.
Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, according to the National Weather Service in San Juan.The National Hurricane Center said that dangerous surf
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