![Hurricane Lee is getting closer to a Category 5. The storm officially strengthened into a Category 4 with 130 MPH maximum sustained winds Thursday afternoon. [Twitter/Screenshot/Public — @EricBurrisWESH]](https://images.dailycaller.com/image/width=960,height=411,fit=cover,f=auto/https://cdn01.dailycaller.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Screenshot-2023-09-07-8.42.03-PM-fotor-20230907204649-e1694134199438.jpg "Hurricane Lee is getting closer to a Category 5. The storm officially strengthened into a Category 4 with 130 MPH maximum sustained winds Thursday afternoon. [Twitter/Screenshot/Public — @EricBurrisWESH]")
Hurricane Lee is getting closer and closer to a Category 5.
The storm officially strengthened into a Category 4 with 130 mph maximum sustained winds Thursday afternoon, according to the National Hurricane Center.
“Additional strengthening is expected tonight. Fluctuations in intensity are expected after that, but Lee is forecast to remain a powerful major hurricane well into next week,” the center said.
Earlier Thursday, Lee was a Category 1 hurricane, but has intensified with astounding speed in the Atlantic Ocean’s warm waters, bumping up its force by 50 mph in the past 12 hours. The system is expected to upgrade Friday morning to a Category 5 when it nears the eastern Caribbean.
Hurricane Lee is located around 780 miles east of the northern Leeward Islands, according to the NHC. (RELATED: Tropical Storm Margot Officially Forms In Atlantic, Expected To Become Hurricane)
The system is expected to reach peak intensity this weekend, and is predicted to be a dangerous hurricane for the southwestern Atlantic in the early part of next week. However, it’s too soon to tell whether or not it will have any direct impact on the United States mainland.
Hurricane #Lee Advisory 10: Lee Now a Category 4 Hurricane. Rip Currents and Hazardous Surf Will Spread Across the Northern Caribbean Friday and Begin Affecting the Mainland U. S. By Sunday. https://t.co/tW4KeGe9uJ
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) September 7, 2023
5PM AST Sep 7: #Lee becomes a category 4 major hurricane. Dangerous surf and life-threatening rip currents are likely in the Leeward Islands, Puerto Rico, Bahamas and along the east coast of the U.S. Visit https://t.co/tW4KeGe9uJ for the latest pic.twitter.com/Rg0Z5gAAwx
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) September 7, 2023
Here are some visuals of Lee, which may already be a Category 5 as I write this — nothing is official as of yet.
This is one of the most impressive rapid intensification episodes I’ve ever seen in the Atlantic. Hurricane #Lee went from having no eye this morning to possibly Cat 5 intensity this evening. Absolutely incredible. pic.twitter.com/49NmtkIJO2
— Dr. Levi Cowan (@TropicalTidbits) September 8, 2023
Major Hurricane #Lee 🌀 pic.twitter.com/xeBAHFXCEr
— Zoom Earth (@zoom_earth) September 7, 2023
Wow, first data from hurricane hunters suggests Hurricane Lee might already be a cat 5 storm.
Ideal conditions for ventilation really showing full force.
Let’s just hope the models are right, and no one gets this storm… pic.twitter.com/6LLBp94JEs
— Eric Burris (@EricBurrisWESH) September 8, 2023
NEW #LEE MODELS 🌀 As of Thursday afternoon, all 82 possibilities (ensemble members) from the European & American models consistently keep the hurricane well east of Florida. This is not our storm this time around thankfully. We will still see larger waves along the East Coast… pic.twitter.com/4xM1TT0LJR
— Matt Devitt (@MattDevittWINK) September 7, 2023
Hell of a storm, ladies and gentlemen. Definitely keep an eye on this boy.