Eastern New England Braces for Glancing Blow, Atlantic Canada in Direct Path

After a ten-day journey across the Atlantic, during which it briefly reached Category 5 strength, Hurricane Lee is nearing the coast on Friday morning. The storm is expected to bring significant impacts, with eastern New England likely to experience a glancing blow and Atlantic Canada bracing for a direct hit. Heavy rain, strong winds, and pounding surf are the primary concerns.

AccuWeather’s hurricane expert, Dan Kottlowski, predicts that the worst conditions on Cape Cod will be felt late Friday night and Saturday as Hurricane Lee tracks more than 100 miles to the east by Saturday morning.

The National Hurricane Center has issued warnings for hurricane conditions and coastal flooding in portions of eastern Maine, southern New Brunswick, and western Nova Scotia on Saturday. In preparation for the storm, Maine Governor Janet Mills declared a state of emergency, marking the state’s first hurricane watch in 15 years as of Thursday afternoon.

A hurricane watch is currently in effect for the following areas:

• Petit Manan Point, Maine, to the U.S./Canada border.
• New Brunswick from the U.S./Canada border to Point Lapreau, including Grand Manan Island.
• Nova Scotia from Digby to Medway Harbour.

To track Hurricane Lee’s projected path, you can refer to the live tracker available. It’s important to note that while this forecast track shows the most likely path of the storm’s center, it does not encompass the full width of the storm or its potential impacts. The center of the storm may deviate from the projected path up to 33% of the time.

Meteorologists are also utilizing spaghetti models to better understand the storm’s trajectory. These models consist of various forecast tools and models, with the hurricane center relying on the top four or five highest-performing models to assist in making accurate predictions.

As Hurricane Lee advances, residents and authorities in the affected regions are urged to stay informed and take necessary precautions to ensure their safety in the face of this potentially dangerous weather event.