AccuWeather.com is wrapping up live coverage of Lee, which blasted part of New England and Atlantic Canada with intense winds, heavy rain and pounding waves. For additional coverage of the lingering impacts from Lee, click here. Thank you for staying up to date with the storm on AccuWeather.com. For additional coverage, you can stream AccuWeather NOW anytime on our website. Stay up to date on the latest weather in your area by downloading the free AccuWeather mobile app and visiting AccuWeather.com. And keep an eye on weather news and forecasts by following AccuWeather on:
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As Lee approached New England and the Canadian Maritimes on Saturday, people across the region ventured outside to experience the powerful storm first-hand. Along much of the New England coast, Lee will be remembered for its howling wind and pounding surf. Some residents in Massachusetts and Maine likened the storm to a nor’easter, only without the snow and ice. Farther to the northeast, conditions were much worse with heavy rain accompanying the storm, including in Nova Scotia, where it made landfall on Saturday afternoon. The worst of Lee is over, but it may take some communities days to clean up in the wake of the storm.
People across Maine, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia are waking up in the dark due to power outages caused by Lee. Outages across the region are over 150,000, according to PowerOutage.us, down from the nearly 300,000 reported on Saturday afternoon during the height of the storm. Some outages are likely to continue into the start of the new week as utility crews work to fix snapped power lines. People using a generator to keep the lights on should follow these safety tips to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning.
A large tree caught in power lines was hanging over a road in Liverpool, Nova Scotia, on Saturday, Sept. 16. (AccuWeather)
Hurricane Lee made landfall in southwestern Nova Scotia on Saturday afternoon, just the latest notable weather event of the year for the Canadian province.
In this aerial image, wildfires burn in Shelburne County, Nova Scotia, on Wednesday, May 31, 2023. (Communications Nova Scotia/The Canadian Press via AP)
In late May, massive wildfires ignited in southern Nova Scotia that burned over 66 square miles of land and sent huge plumes of smoke into the sky that eventually drifted over part of the United States. After the fires came the floods, with thunderstorms dumping around 10 inches of rain in parts of Nova Scotia, which caused significant damage to roads and bridges and multiple fatalities. “People are exhausted. … It’s so much in such a small time period,” Pam Lovelace, a councilor in Halifax, said according to The Associated Press. “From a mental health perspective, we’re asking people to check in on their neighbors.”
Scandar Myles (L) and Kendrick Cook start a generator after Hurricane Ida on September 2, 2021 in Hammond, Louisiana. The storm made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane Sunday in Louisiana and brought flooding, wind damage and power outages along the Gulf Coast. (Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
In the event of an extended power outage, particularly following hurricanes and other severe weather, having a generator at home can be a huge advantage. But if used improperly, the devices can seriously harm or kill unsuspecting families.
Carbon monoxide poisoning, electrocution and fire are all potentially fatal risks of misusing portable generators. Experts recommend following these safety rules while running generators to keep your family safe:
•Generators should be placed a minimum of 30 feet away from the house.
•Generators should be operated in dry areas and kept away from windows, doors and any other openings into the home.
•Place generators in an area where there is 3 to 4 feet of clear space on all sides to ensure proper ventilation.
•Be sure to know the signs and symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning, which include dizziness, blurred vision, loss of consciousness, shortness of breath and nausea and vomiting, according to the Mayo Clinic.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) named Tropical Storm Nigel at the 11 p.m. EDT Saturday. Nigel is located 980 miles east-northeast of the Lesser Antilles and has maximum sustained winds of 40 mph. Additional strengthening is expected over the next couple of days, with Nigel likely to become the basin’s next hurricane. Nigel could bring rough surf and rip currents to Bermuda as it passes to the east during the middle of next week. However, any western trend could bring rain and gusty winds into the area as Nigel passes by. Aside from these potential impacts to Bermuda, no other direct impacts to land are expected.
As Lee’s wrath was felt across eastern parts of New England, air travel was impacted on Saturday. More than 3,000 flights were delayed within, into or out of the United States, according to FlightAware. Cancellations were closing in on 400 at 10 p.m. EDT, with Boston Logan International Airport topping the list for canceled flights. The air travel impacts were not limited to the U.S. In advance of Lee’s arrival, all flights scheduled for Saturday were canceled at the Halifax Stanfield International Airport in Nova Scotia.
Lee packed a punch in terms of powerful waves, coastal flooding, damaging winds, and drenching rain as it slammed into Nova Scotia on Saturday. Intense impacts from Lee were captured by AccuWeather reporters and storm chasers in the field from New England to Nova Scotia. Extreme Meteorologist Reed Timmer filmed gigantic waves spraying water some 50-60 feet into the air in Nova Scotia, and residents in the area told him it was the worst storm they experienced in decades. To witness Timmer’s highlights and others, watch the recap video below:
Lee may have lost its hurricane status by the time it made landfall on Sept. 16, but it still packed a powerful punch, as you can see in this one-minute montage.
Lee continues to pound parts of Maine, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, but for many areas of New England, the worst of the storm is over. "Here in southeast Maine, Lee has come, and Lee has gone," AccuWeather Meteorologist and Storm Chaser Tony Laubach said. When Laubach arrived in Wells, Maine, on Friday, he saw people boarding up windows and bracing for the potential storm surge from Lee. Conditions deteriorated by Saturday, with "big, bruising waves" hammering the coastline. Watch Laubach's full report below:
AccuWeather Meteorologist Tony Laubach wraps up Lee from Wells, Maine, on Sept. 16.
The entirety of the New England coast felt Lee’s presence on Saturday as winds howled while powerful waves hammered the coast, but not everyone feared the massive storm. “This is absolutely why we live on Cape Cod,” Cindy Glover told AccuWeather National Reporter Bill Wadell. Glover is a resident of Yarmouth, Massachusetts, part of the southern extent of Cape Cod, and was out in the windy conditions on Saturday to take in the extreme weather. “I know it’s damaging, but this is nature at its best.” Watch Wedell’s full report from Massachusetts below:
Cape Cod is drying out after drenching rain, rough surf and wind gusts that topped 60 miles per hour on Sept. 16.
AccuWeather Meteorologist and Storm Chaser Tony Laubach is in the coastal town of Wells, Maine, located about 30 miles southwest of Portland, where he has experienced Lee up close. Laubach was live on the AccuWeather Network on Saturday when a large wave crashed into the nearby sea wall, sending a wall of water into the air that rained down during the middle of the broadcast. “There we go, welcome to Maine, folks,” Laubach said after being drenched by the wave.
Laubach said that the southern coast of Maine has primarily experienced just the winds and waves from Lee, with very little rain to speak of. In fact, patches of blue sky could be seen behind Laubach during the broadcast. Click here to watch the entire broadcast.
AccuWeather Meteorologist and Storm Chaser Tony Laubach being drenched by a wave from Lee while reporting from Wells, Maine.
A satellite image of Lee around the time that it made landfall in Nova Scotia on Saturday. (NOAA/GOES-EAST)
The center of Lee has moved over Long Island, Nova Scotia, the first time the storm has moved over land since it developed over the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean on Tuesday, Sept. 5. Landfall occurred around 4 p.m. EDT, when the storm had maximum sustained winds of 70 mph. The center of Lee will track back over water, crossing the Bay of Fundy before making another landfall along the coast of New Brunswick later on Saturday.
While many people across coastal New England and the Canadian Maritimes hunker down during the height of Lee, a few people are taking advantage of the extreme weather conditions. AccuWeather National Reporter Bill Wadell was at Cape Bod Bay on Saturday morning when he saw a kitesurfer catch the wind and fly high above the rough surf, before safely landing back on the turbulent ocean. Kitesurfers harness the power of the wind to skim across the ocean and occasionally jump high into the sky.
Extreme Meteorologist Reed Timmer is in Cape Sable Island, Nova Scotia, located on the island’s southern tip, where Lee has unleashed intense winds and flooding storm surge. “Big-time winds continue to hammer the southwest side of Nova Scotia,” Timmer said. “We have big suds that are flying by from the surf.” He added that winds have gusted over 70 mph at his location, with the onshore winds blowing water from the ocean over part of the land. Erosion has also happened along the coast due to the powerful waves churned up by Lee. Watch the video below for Timmer’s latest report from Nova Scotia:
Storm chaser Dr. Reed Timmer was in Cape Sable Island, Nova Scotia, where Lee’s high winds and storm surge hammered the coast on Sept. 16, forming foamy water along the shores.
As Lee's landfall approaches in western Nova Scotia over the coming hours, images have already surfaced which starkly juxtapose the storm's power and beauty. Lee's strong winds churned up large waves which crashed onto homes in Scituate, Massachusetts. In Maine, surfers took advantage of the high wave action off the coast while people in Bar Harbor struggled to keep rain ponchos secured in the gusty conditions. Meanwhile, high-level clouds on the outer periphery of Lee resulted in stunning sunsets ahead of the storm on Friday evening.
AccuWeather meteorologists are keeping a close eye on the next tropical threats in the Atlantic basin in the wake of Lee. Tropical Depression 15, which formed on Friday, is expected to strengthen into Tropical Storm Nigel this weekend.
It is likely that brewing Nigel will reach major hurricane strength (maximum susatained winds of at least 111 mph) as it gets pulled to the north and then northeast next week. The storm could bring rough surf and rip currents to Bermuda as it passes by to the east of the islands during the middle of the week. Should the storm track farther to the west, rain and gusty winds may also impact Bermuda, AccuWeather hurricane hurricane experts warn.
At 11 a.m. EDT, the National Hurricane Center places Lee's center 150 miles west-southwest of Halifax, Nova Scotia, with sustained winds of 75 mph.
AccuWeather meteorologists forecast that Hurricane Lee will make landfall near Whipple Point on Brier Island, Nova Scotia, Canada, midafternoon on Saturday. If the storm’s center moves any farther west, it will miss that landfall point and not hit land until it comes ashore in the province of New Brunswick a couple hours later.
As Lee approaches, wind gusts have reached 73 mph Saturday morning at Halifax, Nova Scotia, and 66 mph at Brier Island, Nova Scotia. In New England, Wellfleet, Massachusetts, recorded a gust of 65 mph. Because of its elevation of over 6,200 feet, Mount Washington, New Hampshire, 250 miles northwest of Lee, has measured wind gusts as high as 83 mph.
More than 100,000 customers are without power in Nova Scotia due to Lee’s winds. Another 30,000 lost power in New Brunswick, with a similar number in Maine. The National Weather Service has received about a dozen reports of trees and power lines down in Hancock and Washington Counties in Maine. Some trees were also blocking roads.
Flight cancellations within and out of the United States have surpassed 350 so far on Saturday, with the highest amount reported at Boston Logan International Airport, according to FlightAware. A total of 600 delays have occurred in the U.S. as of 9:30 a.m. EDT, with more likely.
Nick Ewen, director of content for The Points Guy, joined AccuWeather to discuss travel concerns ahead of Lee. Due to air traffic control issues, the large storm will only compound issues, he explained. Ewen said that for anyone flying from an airport across New England or even the Northeast or with connecting flights at these airports, there could be significant delays this weekend. Ripple-effects delays will be felt at major hubs in other parts of the nation. In the video below, Ewen provides pro tips for tracking airline delays this weekend.
What could Hurricane Lee mean for travelers? Nick Ewen from The Points Guy explains potential problems for airports and flights this weekend.
Visitors photograph the evening sky in advance of Hurricane Lee, Friday, Sept. 15, 2023, in Bar Harbor, Maine. Red skies at night usually portend fair weather but Saturday's weather is predicted to be stormy. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Vibrant red sunset photos were captured along the New England coastline on Friday evening, including stunning shots taken from Boston and Bar Harbor, Maine (See Also: Proper pronunciation from a meteorologist who happens to be a New Englander). Lee, which was still hundreds of miles away, had spread a shield of cirrus clouds over the region as is typically on the outskirts of a tropical system. Cirrus clouds occur very high in the atmosphere and are made up of ice crystals. When ice crystals from cirrus clouds are present at sunrise or sunset, the sky can appear in vivid reds or oranges when the sun is nearby in the sky.
The sun sets behind the city skyline in advance of Hurricane Lee, Friday, Sept. 15, 2023, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
AccuWeather National Reporter Bill Wadell said it’s a blustery morning as Lee sideswipes Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The wind can be heard blowing in the background of a video from Truro, Massachusetts, which he posted on X Saturday morning. Eversource reported 1,700 power outages across eastern Maine, Wadell added. The National Weather Service office in Boston, Massachusetts, sent an update with the highest winds recorded so far, and gusts have topped 60 mph along the Cape as Lee swirls well offshore.
AccuWeather field reporters are in place from Massachusetts to Nova Scotia in the path of Lee as the massive storm chugs along toward the Canadian Maritimes. Towering waves were captured crashing along the shoreline as Lee approached. One woman’s close call with a large wave in Wells, Maine, was caught on tape. “You have to respect the water. Respect the winds,” Norine Marchellos, a visitor from Connecticut, told AccuWeather reporters. Watch the rough seas being stirred by Lee in the compilation video below.
With waves crashing ashore the final night before Lee’s landfall, people from Rhode Island to New Brunswick prepared for the storm.
Storm surge from Lee is expected to impact a wide area of the northeastern U.S. and Canadian Maritime coasts stretching from Long Island northward across New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. AccuWeather hurricane experts warn that the greatest storm surge will be along coastal southeastern Massachusetts and coastal southern Nova Scotia, where a storm surge of 3 to 6 feet is expected. The wind direction will be a primary factor for funneling water into coastal zones of the region.
Large swells will also accompany Lee as it treks northward causing coastal flooding and beach erosion along the coasts of the northeastern U.S. and coastal Canadian Maritimes.
Storm surge is the deadliest aspect of tropical systems. AccuWeather urges individuals in the area to heed the advice of local officials as storm surge and coastal flooding can prompt road closures and evacuations in vulnerable areas.
Lee's rainbands drenched eastern New England on Saturday, Sept. 16, 2023. (AccuWeather Radar)
As of 5:00 a.m. EDT, Lee was still packing hurricane-force winds with maximum sustained winds clocking in at 80 mph. AccuWeather forecasters warn that Lee is still a large and dangerous storm, with tropical-storm-force winds stretching nearly 400 miles from Lee’s center. Lee was churning about 220 miles south-southeast of Eastport, Maine, while nearing its closest pass to Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
Into this weekend, Lee will continue to accelerate north-northeastward into dramatically cooler waters off the coasts of New England, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. The storm will churn over sea surface temperatures near 80 degrees Fahrenheit on Friday to values ranging between 50 and 60 degrees F by early Saturday. As a result, Lee is expected to gradually lose wind intensity as it nears land and evolve into a tropical rainstorm.
AccuWeather meteorologists say that although the intensity of Lee is expected to decline, it will still remain a large and dangerous storm as it approaches land. Tropical-storm-force winds currently expand outward up to 320 miles, roughly the straight line distance from New York City to Pittsburgh. As Lee transitions into a tropical rainstorm, the wind field is expected to broaden even more and spread peak gusts of 40-60 mph as far inland as eastern Long Island and northeastern New Hampshire.
Hurricanes that hit New England are different from hurricanes that hit other parts of the country. AccuWeather’s Emmy Victor explains why.
Atlantic Canada, comprised of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Labrador and Newfoundland, is no stranger to hurricanes, with several dozen storms making landfall in the last 100 years. The coastal locations also get hit routinely by tropical storms, and nor’easters that can pack hurricane-force winds. Just last September, Hurricane Fiona was downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone by the National Hurricane Center before it slammed ashore in Nova Scotia, but it still ended up being the strongest and most damaging storm on record for Atlantic Canada.
Selected tropical systems affecting Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, Canada, between 1950 and 2022.
In the state of Maine, it’s a lot more unusual to see a hurricane make its first landfall on the state’s coast. Read more about Canada and Maine’s hurricane history in our Today in Weather History blog.
AccuWeather Radar view of rainbands from Hurricane Lee pushing across parts of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, late Friday night.
Rainbands from Hurricane Lee were seen moving ashore in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, late Friday evening. Lee, a large Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph, is swirling 250 miles east-southeast of Nantucket, Massachusetts, and is providing an expanding area of rain and high winds. AccuWeather meteorologists expect the heaviest rain to move on shore in Cape Cod later tonight into Saturday morning as the storm makes a pass to the east.
Extreme Meteorologist Reed Timmer is in Nova Scotia and is in position to intercept Lee as it roars ashore. "The waves are getting bigger and bigger," Timmer said on Friday night while reporting from Peggy's Cove, located about 20 miles southwest of Halifax. "This is an area that was impacted by a hurricane last year," Timmer added. Watch Timmer's report from Nova Scotia below:
Extreme meteorologist Dr. Reed Timmer reported from the rocky coast of Peggy’s Cove on the night of Sept. 15 as people throughout Nova Scotia braced for the impacts of Hurricane Lee.
A satellite image of Hurricane Lee on Friday night as it was swirling off the coast of the Northeast. (NOAA/GOES-EAST)
The sun has set on Hurricane Lee, which remains a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph. NOAA's GOES-EAST weather satellite took a snapshot of the monstrous storm early Friday night with clouds stretching hundreds of miles from the center, including over New York City and Montreal. Light rain has started to fall over Nova Scotia on the northern flank of the storm, with heavier rain in the offing as Lee continues to race northward at 20 mph.
As Hurricane Lee passed well to the east of the Outer Banks, waterspouts spun up near Rodanthe, North Carolina, on Wednesday. The large waterspout occurred in a thunderstorm several yards from the coast. According to local fire officials, it is very rare to see waterspouts on the ocean side of the Outer Banks. Most waterspouts that occur in the Outer Banks tend to occur on the sound side of the area. Take a look at the waterspouts captured in this live shot below.
While the North Carolina Outer Banks start to deal with big waves from Hurricane Lee, a cold front has caused waterspouts to spin offshore.
The 2022 Atlantic hurricane season was historic, headlined by Hurricane Ian, which devastated part of Florida. However, the current hurricane season has surpassed last season in an index meteorologists call the accumulated cyclone energy (ACE).
When determining the overall strength of a hurricane, many people look at the Saffir-Simpson scale, which classifies hurricanes based on the maximum sustained winds. ACE is much different, measuring the power of a system throughout its entire life. Short-lived tropical storms will have a low ACE, while long-lived hurricanes can generate a significant ACE. As of Thursday, Sept. 14, the cumulative ACE of the 2023 hurricane season amounted to 101.5, according to Colorado State University. This is already higher than the 2022 season, when 14 storms combined for a total ACE of 95.1. With more tropical activity predicted in the Atlantic basin, the ACE for the entire 2023 season could surpass the 30-year historical average of 123.
Hurricane Lee has accounted for more than one-third of the entire ACE in 2023, with a value of 35.8, due to the storm being a hurricane for over a week, including a brief period when it peaked as a Category 5 hurricane.
Winds are picking up along the coast of New England, signaling to residents that time is quickly running out to make final preparations for the arrival of Hurricane Lee. Tropical-storm-force winds of at least 39 mph have been observed at an airport on Nantucket and are forecast to increase throughout the night as rain spreads over the area. Tropical-storm-force winds extend more than 300 miles out from the center of Lee, which was 290 miles southeast of Nantucket as of 5 p.m. EDT, according to the National Hurricane Center. The highest winds are predicted to occur in Nova Scotia near the area where Lee makes landfall, with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 100 mph.
Provincetown, Massachusetts, City Manager Alex Morse joined AccuWeather Early to discuss storm preparations with AccuWeather Senior On-Air Meteorologist Kristina Shalhoup. “We’ve been preparing all week,” Morse said. He noted that the town, which sits near the point of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, has been closely watching the track of Lee. “We still have concerns,” Morse explained, adding that power outages tops his list. Officials have been busy notifying residents and distributing sandbags. Residents have been removing boats from the harbor and removing and securing loose items outdoors to prevent them from blowing away or becoming missiles. Watch the interview below.
Alex Morse, the town manager of Provincetown, Massachusetts, talks about the town’s preparation and concerns for what lies ahead with Hurricane Lee.
Hurricane Lee has already been stirring up big waves, rough surf and dangerous rip currents all along the East Coast of the United States. Surfers took to their boards in Montauk, New York, on Thursday to ride the large swells generated by Lee. Joanna Steidleof Hampton Drones captured footage of the surfers riding giant waves. “It was thrilling and heart pounding … watching the waves, tracking the skilled surfers,” she told Storyful.
Surfers were seen riding the waves off the coast of Montauk, New York, on Sept. 14 as Hurricane Lee continued to move through the Atlantic Ocean.
AccuWeather forecasters and officials are urging people to stay out of the dangerous surf and avoid standing near the coastline to watch the huge waves as that can prove dangerous and even deadly. In 2009, Hurricane Bill didn’t strike the U.S. coastline and instead paralleled it before sweeping past Atlantic Canada, but the storm killed two people in the U.S. due to rough surf. A 7-year-old girl was killed after being washed out to sea with two others while watching Bill’s waves crash onshore at Acadia National Park. Another person was killed in Florida's surf.
Category 1 Hurricane Lee maintained 80-mph maximum sustained winds as of the 2 p.m. EDT Friday advisory issued by the National Hurricane Center. It was spinning 635 miles south-southeast of Nantucket, Massachusetts, and booking it to the north-northeast at 15 mph.
The outer bands of Hurricane Lee's clouds spin over New England and New York City on Sept. 15, 2023. (NOAA)
Lee is a massive storm with tropical-storm-force winds extending 320 miles from its center. Hurricane-force winds, 74 mph and greater, reached out 105 miles from Lee’s center. Satellite snapshots revealed that clouds were sprawled across eastern New England and the Canadian Maritimes, well to the north of Lee’s center. Outer rainbands were nearing southeastern New England.
Massachusetts residents are bracing for Lee’s impacts, especially along the coast where a damaging storm surge is expected. AccuWeather National Reporter Bill Wadell caught up with residents preparing ahead of the storms and noted that many homes along the coastline had been boarded up by Thursday. One Cape Cod, Massachusetts, resident told Wadell while looking out on her property, “It’ll look like an ocean, I’ll have white caps on it,” Valerie Varner said.
In Boston, city officials were preparing to deal with gusty winds and street flooding. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said teams are ready for what Lee will unleash, noting, “Our teams have been in touch with already all permanent crane operators to ensure that they are secure prior to the storm. We’re coordinating internally on where to be ready to deploy flood walls and sandbags if necessary.”
Recent weather conditions have left the region more vulnerable to impacts. “Due to the ground being saturated from the recent rain which we’ve had plenty of this summer, we are looking at potential impacts such as power outages, with the wind, more easily blowing down trees,” Sara Porter, the public information officer of the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, told Wadell. Watch his full report:
Officials are warning families and businesses along the coast and in flood prone areas to prepare for rain, wind and potential surge from Hurricane Lee.
AccuWeather Chief On-Air Meteorologist Bernie Rayno provides the latest forecast on Hurricane Lee. “It doesn’t look like a hurricane, does it?” he noted while showing a satellite image of Lee. “This looks more like a nor’easter,” he added, pointing out the commalike shape of the massive storm appearing on the satellite. That is a classical sign that Lee is transitioning to a tropical rainstorm, Rayno explained. Watch his full forecast below.
Dangerous conditions are expected to unfold as Lee races northward, with landfall expected to take place this weekend.
President Biden approved Maine Gov. Janet Mills’ request for a Presidential Emergency Disaster Declaration as Hurricane Lee approached on Friday. That will allow access to federal resources and personnel in storm response. Mills declared a state of emergency in Maine on Thursday ahead of Lee, authorizing the Maine Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) to activate all resources needed to react to the storm.
“I thank President Biden for his swift approval of my request for an Emergency Disaster Declaration, which will give us access to additional resources as we work to keep Maine people safe during this storm,” Mills said on Friday. “I continue to strongly urge all Maine people, especially those Downeast, to take the necessary precautions to stay safe as Hurricane Lee moves closer.”
A boat's hull is cleaned after it was pulled out of the water in advance of Hurricane Lee at York Harbor Marine, Thursday, Sept. 14, 2023, in York, Maine. Many boat owners have opted to put their vessels in storage earlier than usual to avoid risking damage from this weekend's storm. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Hurricane Lee, a Category 1 storm with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph, continues to charge northward toward New England and the Canadian Maritime provinces. AccuWeather hurricane experts say that based on the current track of Lee, the most likely timing for landfall will be late Saturday afternoon to early Saturday evening in southwestern Nova Scotia or New Brunswick as a tropical storm on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale (sustained winds of 39-73 mph).
Regardless of the exact intensity, Lee is a 1 on the AccuWeather RealImpact™ Scale for Hurricanes due to the expected impacts in the United States and Canada from wind, storm surge flooding, rain and power outages.
Large waves crashed ashore in Bermuda on Thursday as captured by several videos posted on social media. The footage showed strong winds and sheets of rain pelting the region. Lee passed 210 miles to the west of Bermuda, but it had a large shield of tropical-storm-force winds, which extended out 345 miles from its center, widespread clouds and rain as it moved past the islands. Take a look at some of the intense storm footage below.
Hurricane Lee passed by Bermuda on Sept. 14, not hitting the island directly but still unleashing powerful winds, crashing waves and torrential rain.
As Lee advances northward along the New England coast and approaches Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, AccuWeather meteorologists warn that the outer rainbands from the hurricane will reach areas of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, as early as Friday evening. Peak gusts from southeastern New England through Maine are expected to blow from 40-60 mph over the weekend, while a tight corridor from Cape Cod to far southeastern Maine can face wind gusts of 60-80 mph as Lee churns northward in the coming days.
Rainfall from Lee will focus primarily across Cape Cod, central and eastern Maine into Atlantic Canada. Amounts ranging upwards of 2-4 inches will be likely for locations to the east of Bangor, Maine, while portions of far southeastern Maine can observe total rainfall amounts in the ballpark of 4-8 inches with the AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 9 inches.
Due to ample rainfall over the summer months in New England, soils across the region are already rather saturated, which can leave areas vulnerable to the threat of flash flooding and increase the risk of downed trees and power outages. As Lee spreads gusty winds along eastern New England, localized power outages can occur from eastern Connecticut to northern Maine. Experts say that regional and widespread outages will be more likely across coastal Massachusetts and Maine from Friday night to Sunday.
