Tropical Storm Lee expected to become a hurricane 'very soon'

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Tropical Storm Lee formed in the Atlantic Ocean on Tuesday just hours after becoming a tropical depression. Meteorologists had been watching the area of developing storms for days under the name “Invest 95L.”

Lee is forecast to become a powerful hurricane by this weekend. It is expected to reach Category 3 strength or higher. Such development would mean the storm is considered a “major hurricane” with winds at least 111 mph.

Satellite images are already showing the system looking more organized. The area of low pressure is located halfway between Africa and the Windward Islands. 

While it’s too soon to determine the location and full scope of any possible impacts, the storm could become a major hurricane as it nears the Leeward Islands by the end of the week. Interests in the Leeward Islands should continue to monitor the progression of this system.

“The fact that this can become a major hurricane is one of the main reasons we need to pay attention to it, but there is some good reason to feel it’s going to stay off the east coast,” WCNC Charlotte Chief meteorologist Brad Panovich explained in a weather vlog posted to the Weather IQ YouTube channel Tuesday.

The consistency of the forecast models shows the system recurving out to sea with no significant threat to the United States, based on a 10-day outlook of available data. However, some data outliers suggest the storm could come closer to the east coast of the United States.

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Lee is one of two systems in the tropics with a west-northward path across the Atlantic.

Steering currents produced by a high pressure system over the Atlantic Ocean are the big driving mechanism alongside a dip in the jet stream over the eastern United States. Between these two steering currents is an avenue for the system to channel through.

“Big storms are like big ships, they don’t turn on a dime,” Panovich explained. “The sooner you start to see this storm drifting north and making that turn, the better. We don’t want it to wait to the last minute because they tend to struggle to do that.”

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There’s still plenty of time to watch the development of Lee. If the storm does not recurve out to sea, the storm remains between eight and 14 days away from approaching the United States. The next signs to watch include the development location of the eye  – and whether the storm shifts to the north.

The peak of hurricane season is September 10. Hurricane season ends on November 30th.

Contact KJ Jacobs at kjacobs3@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.

WCNC Charlotte’s Weather IQ YouTube channel gives detailed explainers from the WCNC Charlotte meteorologists to help you learn and understand weather, climate and science. Watch previous stories where you can raise your Weather IQ in the YouTube playlist below and subscribe to get updated when new videos are uploaded.