Lee Becomes Category 5 Hurricane: See Latest VA Forecast

VIRGINIA — Commonwealth residents may start to feel the impact of Hurricane Lee as early as Sunday as the fierce system picks up speed in the Atlantic as a Category 5 storm, the highest level on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.

After strengthening overnight, Lee is slated to move north of the northern Leeward Islands, Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico through early next week, according to the National Hurricane Center. As of Friday morning, Lee is barreling through the Atlantic with maximum sustained winds of 165 mph — up from 80 mph just 24 hours ago — moving north-northwest about 630 miles east of the northern Leeward Islands.

It's the Atlantic basin's first Category 5 hurricane of the season.

The National Hurricane Center said life-threatening rip currents could begin in the northern Leeward Islands starting Friday, affecting Puerto Rico, Turks and Caicos, the Bahamas, Bermuda and Hispaniola throughout the weekend.

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

“It is way too soon to know what level of impacts, if any, Lee might have along the U.S. East Coast,” the National Weather Service said, especially since the hurricane is slated to slow “considerably” over the southwestern Atlantic before it likely reaches the East Coast region late next week.

Once it does reach the western Atlantic, heavy rain, gusty winds and storm surge won’t be out of the question for the northeast U.S., according to AccuWeather.

"Right now, the area in the United States that really needs to pay attention includes locations from the upper part of the mid-Atlantic coast to New England," AccuWeather Chief Broadcast Meteorologist Bernie Rayno said.

Several key factors will play a role in Lee’s path toward — or away from — Virginia: Wind direction and jet stream dips, as well as the timing of when Lee spins out to the north, will all help determine its impact on the mid-Atlantic states.

“Regardless, dangerous surf and rip currents are expected along most of the U.S. East Coast beginning Sunday,” National Hurricane Center forecasters said. “Continue to monitor updates to Lee’s forecast during the next several days.”

Virginia largely avoided Hurricane Idalia impacts over Labor Day weekend, save for dangerous rip currents. A Maryland man drowned at Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

Higher-than-normal ocean surface temperatures could also make hurricanes more likely this season, the NHC said.

Lee is the 12th storm to form in the Atlantic in 2023, per The New York Times. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted a "near-normal" number of named storms this year - somewhere between 12 and 17, the outlet reported. The number, however, was revised upward last month to 14 to 21 storms.

Category 5 hurricanes have minimum sustained winds of 157 mph or more. According to NOAA's records, before Lee, there had been 39 hurricanes in the Atlantic Basin since 1924 to reach Category 5 strength.

Ian was the most recent Category 5 storm, prior to Lee: Maximum winds in Ian hit 160 mph while it was over the Gulf of Mexico on Sept. 28, 2022. It made landfall in southwest Florida as a strong Category 4 with 150 mph winds seven hours later, the Weather Channel said.

There have been eight Category 5 Atlantic hurricanes since 2016: Before Lee and Ian, Dorian and Lorenzo in 2019, Michael in 2018, Maria and Irma in 2017 and Matthew in 2016, the network said.