ORLANDO, Fla. – Tropical Storm Lee strengthened into a hurricane Wednesday afternoon.
As of 11 p.m. the storm was 1,035 miles east of the northern Leeward Islands with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph. Lee was moving west-northwest at 14 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center in Florida.
Rapid intensification is forecast to begin by Friday and continue into the weekend.
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Lee is forecast to strengthen into an “extremely dangerous” hurricane by Friday as it moves over very warm waters and pass just northeast of the Caribbean region, the center said.
Preliminary forecasts are not predicting any landfall, although the center warned that “it is too early to determine exactly how close this system will be to the Leeward Islands.”
Most computer models continue to show Lee curving north, away from Florida, but it’s too soon to be certain of the storm’s actual path.
A dip in the jet stream will help to move the storm north. Here’s what is steering Hurricane Lee.
Lee is the 12th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30.
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In August, the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration updated its forecast and warned that this year’s hurricane season would be above normal. Between 14 to 21 named storms are forecast. Of those, six to 11 could become hurricanes, with two to five of them possibly becoming major hurricanes.