Hurricane Lee, With ‘Huge Wind Field,’ Expected to Hit New England With Flooding, Downed Trees, and Disruptions to Travel

A church in New England
Hurricane Lee, a powerful Cape Verde hurricane that was able to rapidly intensify last week into a Category 5 hurricane, is expected to grow in size in the coming days.  Lee has the potential to strike 11 U.S. states at the same time with its massive wind field if present conditions prevail.
Flooding, downed trees, and numerous power outages as well as significant travel disruptions are expected.
“Hurricane Lee will continue moving north with increasing forward speed as the storm moves towards New England and Atlantic Canada,” the National Weather Service said Thursday morning.  “Swells from Lee will produce dangerous surf and life-threatening rip currents across the U.S. East Coast, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.”
The 11 states that could feel Lee’s powerful winds are (in reverse geographic order) Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and Delaware. Washington, D.C. could also be affected, depending on where the storm makes landfall.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Lee was classified as a Category 3 hurricane with sustained wind speeds of 115 mph (185 km/h), according to a statement from the National Hurricane Center. The storm’s hurricane-force winds extend 115 miles (185 km) from its center, with tropical storm–force winds extending 240 miles (386 km) from the center.
Although the storm is expected to somewhat weaken in the next few days, it is also forecast to triple in size, thus increasing its sphere of influence.
Lee will be approaching New England by tomorrow evening and will be closest to Cape Code early Saturday. Forecasters are not ruling out the possibility that a wobble to the west could bring the dangerous storm into contact with the highly-populated I-95 corridor, although this is seen by some meteorologists as unlikely.  The greatest impact, if Lee maintains its present course, will be between Cape Code and Maine.
Coastal areas will likely see massive waves and a substantial storm surge from the large, fast-moving systems. Storm surge can increase the risk of flash flooding.
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