Hurricane Lee continues to travel toward the northeast as a Category 1 hurricane, prompting Maine and Massachusetts to declare states of emergency.
The storm currently has sustained winds of 80 mph with higher gusts. It is “expected to be a large and dangerous storm when it reaches eastern New England and Atlantic Canada,” according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).
Hurricane-force winds are currently reaching 100 miles outward from the center of the storm, while tropical-force winds are traveling up to 300 miles out, as stated by the NHC in a forecast discussion.
Storm conditions are expected to start Friday afternoon and spread northward along the coast, resulting in conditions that are “likely to lead to downed trees and potential power outages,” the NHC reported.
Lee could bring between 1 and 4 inches of rain in some areas beginning on Friday night, with 1 to 3 feet of storm if it makes landfall during high tide, according to the Independent.
“Heavy rainfall from Lee could produce localized urban and small stream flooding in eastern Maine into portions of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia from tonight into Saturday night,” the NHC noted.
Lee’s path originally had it making landfall in Maine’s Bay of Fundy area late on Saturday night. However, as of Friday at around 3:30 p.m. CT, meteorologists now believe the storm is likely to pass about 200 miles east of Southern New England, per CBS News Boston, with Nantucket and the Lower and Outer Cape of Massachusetts expected to be the most affected.
It will then continue across the border to Canada on Saturday night into Sunday, according to the Independent.
In preparation for the upcoming storm, Maine’s Gov. Janet Mills declared a state of emergency on Thursday, citing “an imminent threat to public safety as well as damage to public and private property.” Massachusetts followed suit on Friday, according to the Independent, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau assembled the country’s incident response group.
Mills has also requested President Biden issue a Presidential Emergency Disaster Declaration, which would provide the state with federal resources prior to the storm’s arrival.
“The preemptive actions I took today position Maine to seize Federal resources to respond to the impacts of Hurricane Lee,” she said in a press release.
“We continue to closely track the storm and are expecting heavy rains and high winds that likely will cause storm surge, inland flooding, infrastructure damage, and power outages. We continue to strongly urge Maine people — particularly those Downeast — to exercise caution and to take steps to ensure they have what they need to stay safe as the storm draws closer.”
Mills also stated that she had spoken with Deanne Criswell, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, who indicated that Maine would receive support from the federal government in response to the hurricane.