Hurricane Lee to hit US East Coast TODAY: Maine braces for 20-foot waves and 85 mph winds as dangerous storm heads north after hitting Bermuda and the Dominican Republic.
- Lee will unleash potentially life-threatening storm surges Friday and Saturday.
- Category 1 storm triggers Maine’s first hurricane warning in 15 years
- Nantucket, Cape Cod and the Long Island coast are also bracing for the storm’s impact
Hurricane Lee is heading toward New England, bringing 20-foot waves, 85 mph winds and triggering warnings in Maine, Massachusetts, New York and Canada, amid fears of storm surge and deadly tornadoes.
The storm ravaged the Caribbean overnight, battering the Dominican Republic and Bermuda before heading north with New England in its sights.
It will make landfall in Canada, but will trigger huge waves across much of the New England coast.
In a statement released this morning, the National Hurricane Center announced that tropical storm conditions would begin in the United States this afternoon.
New satellite images released this morning by NOAA show Hurricane Lee heading toward the East Coast.
Waves gather in Shinnecock Inlet on Long Island as winds from Hurricane Lee approach Friday
There are fears for many coastal homes on Long Island, which are hit during hurricane season.
In Maine, the governor issued a hurricane warning for the first time in 15 years, while the National Guard on Long Island is ready to sandbag homes and respond to emergencies.
In New Jersey, anyone who goes swimming will be fined up to $200 while beach advisories are in effect.
After a deluge of rain, flooding, sinkholes and tornadoes this week, New England is preparing to face Hurricane Lee.
As the Category 1 system hit Bermuda, Maine was under its first hurricane watch in 15 years and a state of emergency was declared Thursday by Gov. Janet Mills.
The waterlogged region braced for 20-foot waves offshore and wind gusts of up to 80 mph, as well as more rain.
Crews from Davis & Tripp Marina and Boat Yard pull a sailboat named Hurricane from the waters of Padanaram Harbor in Dartmouth, Massachusetts.
The hull of a boat is cleaned after being removed from the water ahead of Hurricane Lee at York Harbor Marine, Thursday, September 14, 2023, in York, Maine
Surfers and others spend a day at Rockaway Beach as the impact of Hurricane Lee causes large surf and rip tides across much of the Northeast September 14, 2023 in New York.
Surfers spend a day at Rockaway Beach as the impact of Hurricane Lee causes large surf and rip tides across much of the Northeast September 14, 2023 in New York. Anyone found in water in New Jersey starting Friday will be fined
The hurricane watch applied to eastern Maine, while the rest of the state and an area extending south through Massachusetts were under a tropical storm warning.
Powerful winds and coastal flooding are expected to arrive Friday afternoon in southern New England and spread northward.
Although Lee did not contribute to the flooding that hit New England earlier in the week, it threatened to exacerbate conditions in an already waterlogged region.
The Coast Guard and emergency management agencies warned New Englanders to prepare, and utility companies sent reinforcements to deal with possible power outages.
At the Boothbay Harbor Marina in Maine, the community came together to remove boats from the water to keep them out of harm’s way.
“It’s a batten-down day,” owner Kim Gillies said Thursday.
