Hurricane Lee tracker: Cat-3 is ‘growing in size’ with flood threat for New England

Winds and flooding also are expected to affect Rhode Island, eastern Massachusetts, southeastern New Hampshire and central and coastal Maine this weekend, forecasters said.

The New York Metro Weather account on X, formerly Twitter, had a warning for New Yorkers on Tuesday.

“Hurricane Lee is still not heading for NYC, despite what the clickbait articles and social media videos might be trying to tell you,” a post read.

“Here’s what we can expect as the storm passes by.”

The 403rd Wing of the US Air Force Reserve Command, otherwise known as the “Hurricane Hunters”, shared this video of their aerial weather reconnaissance of Hurricane Lee at the weekend.

The startling death and devastation wreaked by Mediterranean storm Daniel pointed to the storm’s intensity, but also the vulnerability of a nation torn apart by chaos for more than a decade.

Outside help was only just starting to reach Derna on Tuesday, more than 36 hours after the disaster struck. The floods damaged or destroyed many access roads to the coastal city of some 89,000. (Associated Press)

Heavy rainfall has flooded parts of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, with one city declaring a state of emergency as water poured into homes, creating moats around their foundations and leading to boat rescues of residents. Concern about a dam listed in poor condition led to more evacuations.

More storms were in the forecast for Wednesday, and although it was still early, winds and flooding from Hurricane Lee were expected to affect Rhode Island, eastern Massachusetts, southeastern New Hampshire and central and coastal Maine during the weekend, forecasters said.

Up to 300 people were evacuated by Tuesday morning in Leominster, about 40 miles northwest of Boston, Mayor Dean Mazzarella said. That included residents of a high-rise apartment building and a nursing home. All schools were closed and two shelters were opened.

A flood watch was issued from 11am on Wednesday into Thursday morning by the Boston office of the National Weather Service.

One to two inches of rain is expected across the area, although localized amounts up to 4 inches are possible. Flooding is likely and forecasters warned people not to drive through submerged streets or underpasses.

The warning came after central Massachusetts was pounded by several inches of rainfall on Monday leading states of emergency to be declared in the cities of Leominster and North Attleborough.

Hurricane Margot became the fifth named hurricane of the Atlantic season on Monday.

On Tuesday, it was located some 890 miles (1,430 kilometers) southwest of the Azores with maximum sustained winds of 85mph (140 kph) and was moving north at 12mph (19 kph).

The hurricane is forecast to remain over open waters. Regardless, Swells generated by Margot will begin to affect the Azores on Wednesday. These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.

Forecasters warned of dangerous surf and rip currents affecting the southeastern US coast from Tuesday due to Hurricane Lee and local emergency departments backed up those alerts.

“Pay attention to beach warning flags and do not enter the water in unsafe conditions,” warned the Florida Division of Emergency Management.

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s satellites captured the twin storms of Lee and Margot swirling in the Atlantic today.

Hurricane Lee was seen just north of Puerto Rico, and Hurricane Margot was strengthening farther east. Lee is a powerful Category 3 storm and is expected to cause hazardous surf and rip conditions at beaches across the western Atlantic this week.