Where Is Hurricane Lee Going And When Will It Hit?

Hurricane Lee churned in the Atlantic Ocean Wednesday, becoming the fifth major hurricane to form in the Atlantic in 2017. The Category 3 storm packed winds of 115 mph as it moved northwest at about 7 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Lee, born as a tropical storm last week, will almost certainly pose no danger to land, according to the NHC. The hurricane remained far off the coast of Bermuda Wednesday afternoon and was expected to weaken as Thursday approached. It would likely move north and west in the coming days before making its way out into the distant ocean by Saturday morning.

“Lee could strengthen a little more before weakening likely begins on Thursday,” the National Hurricane Center said.

Hurricane Lee’s arrival marked the fifth hurricane of Category 3 or above in the Atlantic this season. Hurricane Harvey hit the Texas coast Aug. 26, Hurricane Jose swept near the Caribbean Sept. 9, Hurricane Irma walloped the Caribbean and Florida Sept. 10 and Hurricane Maria ripped through Puerto Rico and other parts of the Caribbean Sep. 20.

Lee joined Hurricane Maria as the two storms currently making their way through the Atlantic. Maria, previously a hurricane that weakened to a tropical storm, strengthened once again into a hurricane Wednesday afternoon as it remained off the coast of North Carolina. Thousands of visitors to the state’s Outer Banks area were evacuated as preparations were made for flooding and coastal erosion.

Maria left behind a trail of devastation when it whipped through the Caribbean last week, decimating Puerto Rico and other islands. An estimated 97 percent of Puerto Rico remained without power Wednesday, while half the island had no running water.

“The devastation in Puerto Rico has set us back nearly 20 to 30 years,” said Puerto Rico Resident Commissioner Jenniffer Gonzalez, according to the Washington Post. “I can’t deny that the Puerto Rico of now is different from that of a week ago. The destruction of properties, of flattened structures, of families without homes, of debris everywhere. The island’s greenery is gone.”