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Tag: Hurricane Lee

  • Lee expected to be

    Lee expected to be

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    Update: Lee made landfall in Canada.

    Former Hurricane Lee is lashing eastern New England and southeast Canada and is expected to make landfall Saturday, forecasters said. As the storm approached Nova Scotia, it became a post-tropical cyclone but it is expected to be “near hurricane strength” when it makes landfall in southeastern Canada, the National Hurricane Center said Saturday.

    The storm was a Category 1 hurricane on Friday and at one point last week had Category 5 strength.

    CBS News senior weather and climate producer David Parkinson said the Canadian Maritime Provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island were going to experience the worst effects from Lee. The hurricane center expected Maine’s coast would experience tropical storm conditions and coastal flooding as well.

    Coastal Maine Braces For Impact From Hurricane Lee
    Boats are docked together in a protective cove before the possible arrival of Hurricane Lee on Sept. 15, 2023, in Eastport, Maine. 

    Getty Images


    In New England, Lee was expected to drop 1-4 inches of rain in eastern Maine and far eastern Massachusetts, according to the hurricane center. Coastal areas of Maine could see 20-foot waves, and parts of the Massachusetts coast could see 15-foot waves, Parkinson said.

    “This is as good as you’re going to get with a hurricane coming this close to New England,” Parkinson said.

    President Biden issued an emergency declaration for the state of Maine late Thursday, ahead of the Lee’s arrival, that will free up resources from the Federal Emergency Management Agency “to coordinate all disaster relief efforts.”

    Post-Tropical Cyclone Lee is seen in a satellite image at 2:26 p.m. EDT on Sept. 16, 2023.
    Post-Tropical Cyclone Lee is seen in a satellite image at 2:26 p.m. EDT on Sept. 16, 2023.

    NOAA/NESDIS/STAR GOES-East


    As of 2 p.m. EDT on Saturday, Lee had maximum sustained winds of 70 mph, according to the hurricane center.

    Hurricane-force winds were extending up to 140 miles from the center of Lee and tropical-storm-force winds were extending up to 390 miles from the center.

    Lee’s “cone of uncertainty”

    The hurricane center releases forecast cones for tropical cyclones showing the probable path for a storm’s center. The forecast cone is sometimes called the “cone of uncertainty” because the storm’s center historically moves outside of the probable path “about a third of the time,” according to the center. Officials urge people to not focus entirely on a storm’s center because its effects can be felt hundreds of miles away.

    A map from the National Hurricane Center shows the probable path for the center of Post-Tropical Cyclone Lee as of 2 p.m. EDT on Sept. 16, 2023.
    A map from the National Hurricane Center shows the probable path for the center of Post-Tropical Cyclone Lee as of 2 p.m. EDT on Sept. 16, 2023.

    National Hurricane Center


    Where is Lee?

    The center of the storm was about 80 miles south-southeast of Eastport, Maine, and about 150 miles west-southwest of Halifax, Nova Scotia, according to the hurricane center. Lee was moving north at 22 mph.

    Ahead of the storm, a hurricane watch was in effect for parts of southeastern Canada. The watch means hurricane conditions are possible for the area. Earlier, Lee prompted a hurricane watch to be issued in Maine for the first time since 2008, Parkinson reported.

    A tropical storm warning was issued from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, northward to the U.S.-Canada border and parts of southeastern Canada. The warning means tropical storm conditions are expected in the area through Sunday.

    Alex Sundby

    Alex Sundby is a senior editor for CBSNews.com

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  • Lee makes landfall in Canada after moving up Atlantic Ocean as a hurricane

    Lee makes landfall in Canada after moving up Atlantic Ocean as a hurricane

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    Lee made landfall in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia on Saturday as a post-tropical cyclone, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. The storm had maximum sustained winds of 70 mph, according to the hurricane center.

    This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.

    Alex Sundby

    Alex Sundby is a senior editor for CBSNews.com

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  • Climate change could bring more monster storms like Hurricane Lee to New England

    Climate change could bring more monster storms like Hurricane Lee to New England

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    BOSTON — When it comes to hurricanes, New England can’t compete with Florida or the Caribbean.

    But scientists said Friday the arrival of storms like Hurricane Lee this weekend could become more common in the region as the planet warms, including in places such as the Gulf of Maine.

    Lee remained a Category 1 hurricane late Friday night with sustained winds of 80 mph (128 kph). The storm was forecast to brush the New England coast before making landfall later Saturday in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. States of emergency were declared for Massachusetts and Maine.

    One recent study found climate change could result in hurricanes expanding their reach more often into mid-latitude regions, which include New York, Boston and even Beijing.

    The study says the factors include warmer sea surface temperatures in these regions and the shifting and weakening of the jet streams, which are the strong bands of air currents encircling the planet in both hemispheres.

    “These jet stream changes combined with the warmer ocean temperatures are making the mid-latitude more favorable to hurricanes,” said Joshua Studholme, a Yale University physicist and the study’s lead author. “Ultimately meaning that these regions are likely to see more storm formation, intensification and persistence.”

    Another recent study simulated tropical cyclone tracks from pre-industrial times, modern times and a future with higher emissions. It found hurricanes will move north and east in the Atlantic. The research also found hurricanes would track closer to the coasts including Boston, New York and Norfolk, Virginia, and more likely form along the Southeast coast, giving New Englanders less time to prepare.

    “We also found that hurricanes are more likely to move most slowly when they’re traveling along the U.S. East Coast, which causes their impacts to last longer and increase that duration of dealing with winds and storm surge,” said Andra Garner, lead study author and an assistant professor of environmental science at Rowan University in New Jersey.

    Garner noted the study results included New York City and Boston.

    Kerry Emanuel, a professor emeritus of atmospheric science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who has long studied the physics of hurricanes, said parts of Maine will see more frequent hurricanes and heavier rains with each storm.

    “We expect to see more hurricanes than we’ve seen in the last few decades. They should produce more rain and more wind,” said Emanuel, who lives in Maine. “We certainly have seen up here an increase in the destructiveness of winter storms, which is a very different beast. I would say the bulk of the evidence, the weight of the evidence, is that we’ll see more rain and more wind from these storms.”

    One reason for the trend is the region’s warming waters.

    The Gulf of Maine, for example, is warming faster than the vast majority of the world’s oceans. In 2022, the gulf recorded the second-warmest year on record, beating the old record by less than half a degree Fahrenheit. The average sea surface temperature was 53.66 degrees Fahrenheit (12 degrees Celsius), more than 3.7 degrees above the 40-year average, scientists said.

    “Certainly, when we think about storms forming and traveling at more northern latitudes, sea surface temperature comes into play a lot because hurricanes need those really warm ocean waters to fuel them,” Garner said. “And if those warm ocean waters exist at higher latitudes than they used to, it makes it more possible for storms to move in those areas.”

    While hurricanes and tropical storms are uncommon in New England, the region has been seen its share of violent weather events. The Great New England Hurricane of 1938 brought gusts as high as 186 mph (300 kph) and sustained winds of 121 mph (195 kph) at Massachusetts’ Blue Hill Observatory. Hurricanes Carol and Edna hit the region 11 days apart in 1954 and Hurricane Bob decimated Block Island in 1991.

    Superstorm Sandy in 2012 caused damage across more than a dozen states and wreaked havoc in the Northeast when it made landfall near Atlantic City, New Jersey. Tropical Storm Irene killed six people in Vermont in August 2011, washing homes off their foundations and damaging or destroying more than 200 bridges and 500 miles (805 kilometers) of highway.

    Experts warn that policy makers need to take projections of increased hurricane activity seriously and start upgrading their dams, roadways and neighborhoods for these future storms.

    “We definitely in our coastal communities need to be thinking about how can we make our shorelines more resilient,” Garner said.

    ”Do we need to change,” she said, “where those flood zones are located, kind of thinking about how to perhaps protect the shorelines and think about solutions for that and adaptation kinds of things?”

    Those making policy also can implement measures to keep emissions down so the worst effects of climate change don’t materialize, Garner said.

    ___

    Follow Michael Casey on X, formerly Twitter: @mcasey1

    ___ Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. See more about AP’s climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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  • State of emergency declared for Maine, Massachusetts ahead of Hurricane Lee’s arrival

    State of emergency declared for Maine, Massachusetts ahead of Hurricane Lee’s arrival

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    State of emergency declared for Maine, Massachusetts ahead of Hurricane Lee’s arrival – CBS News


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    Hurricane Lee, a Category 1 storm Friday, is approaching the northeast coast and is expected to impact New England and Atlantic Canada by Saturday. President Biden has declared a state of emergency for Maine, while Gov. Maura Healey declared an emergency for Massachusetts. Chris Warren with The Weather Channel has the latest forecast.

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  • Climate change could bring more storms like Hurricane Lee to New England

    Climate change could bring more storms like Hurricane Lee to New England

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    BOSTON — When it comes to hurricanes, New England can’t compete with Florida or the Caribbean.

    But scientists said Friday that the arrival of storms like Hurricane Lee this weekend could become more common in the region as the planet warms, including in places such as the Gulf of Maine.

    One recent study found climate change could result in hurricanes expanding their reach more often into mid-latitude regions, which includes New York, Boston and even Beijing. Factors in this, the study found, are the warmer sea surface temperatures in these regions and the shifting and weakening of the jet streams — strong bands of air currents that encircle the planet in both hemispheres.

    “These jet stream changes combined with the warmer ocean temperatures are making the mid latitude more favorable to hurricanes,” Joshua Studholme, a Yale University physicist and l ead author on the study. “Ultimately meaning that these regions are likely to see more storm formation, intensification and persistence.”

    Another study simulated tropical cyclone tracks from pre-industrial times, modern times and a future with higher emissions. It found that hurricanes will move north and east in the Atlantic. It also found hurricanes would track closer to the coasts including Boston, New York and Norfolk, Virginia and more likely to form along the Southeast coast, giving New Englanders less time to prepare.

    “We also found that hurricanes are more likely to move most slowly when they’re traveling along the U.S. East Coast, which causes their impacts to last longer and increase that duration of dealing with winds and storm surge, things like that. And that was, again, for cities that included New York City and Boston,” said Andra Garner, lead study author and an assistant professor of environmental science at Rowan University.

    Kerry Emanuel, a professor emeritus of atmospheric science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who has long studied the physics of hurricanes, said parts of Maine will see more frequent hurricanes and heavier rains with each storm.

    “We expect to see more hurricanes than we’ve seen in the last few decades. They should produce more rain and more wind,” said Emanuel, who now lives in Maine. “We certainly have seen up here an increase in the destructiveness of winter storms which is a very different beast. I would say the bulk of the evidence, the weight of the evidence is that we’ll see more rain and more wind from these storms.”

    One reason for the trend is the region’s warming waters. The Gulf of Maine, for example, is warming faster than the vast majority of the world’s oceans. In 2022, the Gulf recorded the second-warmest year on record, beating the old record by less than half a degree Fahrenheit. The average sea surface temperature was 53.66 degrees (12 degrees Celsius), more than 3.7 degrees above the 40-year average, scientists said.

    “Certainly, when we think about storms forming and traveling at more northern latitudes, sea surface temperature comes into play a lot because hurricanes need those really warm ocean waters to fuel them,” Garner said. “And if those warm ocean waters exist at higher latitudes than they used to, it makes it more possible for storms to move in those areas.”

    Lee remained a hurricane with 80 mph (128 kph) winds at 2 p.m. EDT Friday as it headed toward New England and eastern Canada with 20-foot (6-meter) ocean swells, strong winds and rain. Forecasters said there would be winds topping 40 mph (64 kph) across an area spanning more than 400 miles (643 kilometers) ahead of landfall Saturday afternoon.

    While hurricanes and tropical storms are uncommon in New England, the region has been seen its share of violent weather events. The Great New England Hurricane of 1938 brought gusts as high as 186 mph (300 kph) and sustained winds of 121 mph (195 kph) at Massachusetts’ Blue Hill Observatory. Hurricanes Carol and Edna hit the region 11 days apart in 1954 — and Hurricane Bob decimated Block Island in 1991.

    Superstorm Sandy in 2012 caused damage across more than a dozen states and wreaked havoc in the Northeast when it made landfall near Atlantic City, New Jersey. Tropical Storm Irene killed six people in Vermont in August 2011, washing homes off their foundations and damaging or destroying more than 200 bridges and 500 miles (805 kilometers) of highway.

    Experts warn that policy makers need to take projections of increased hurricane activity seriously and start upgrading their dams, roadways and neighborhoods for these future storms.

    “We definitely in our coastal communities need to be thinking about how can we make our shorelines more resilient,” Garner said.

    ”Do we need to change … where those flood zones are located, kind of thinking about how to perhaps protect the shorelines and think about solutions for that and adaptation kinds of things?” she said, adding that policy makers can also implement measures to keep emissions down so the worst of effects of climate change don’t materialize.

    ___

    Follow Michael Casey on X, formerly Twitter: mcasey1

    ___ Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. See more about AP’s climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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  • Hurricane Lee on path for New England and Canada with Category 1 storm expected to be

    Hurricane Lee on path for New England and Canada with Category 1 storm expected to be

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    Hurricane Lee was barreling toward eastern New England and Canada’s Atlantic coast Thursday and was expected to make landfall over the weekend, forecasters said. The Category 1 storm, which grew at one point last week to Category 5 strength, was expected to “remain a very large and dangerous cyclone” as it continued on a trajectory north, according to the National Hurricane Center.

    Lee has prompted a hurricane watch to be issued in Maine for the first time since 2008, CBS News senior weather and climate producer David Parkinson reported. The hurricane center said Thursday that hurricane conditions were possible in Down East Maine on Saturday.

    Forecasters warned that coastal areas from New York’s Long Island to the U.S.-Canada border, including Boston Harbor, Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket in Massachusetts, could see between 1-3 feet in storm surge if the surge peaks at the same time as high tide.

    Hurricane Lee preps
    A boat is lifted from the water in advance of Hurricane Lee at York Harbor Marine on Sept. 14, 2023, in York, Maine. Many boat owners have opted to put their vessels in storage earlier than usual to avoid risking damage from this weekend’s storm.

    Robert F. Bukaty / AP


    Stephanie Abrams, a meteorologist with The Weather Channel, said on “CBS Mornings” on Thursday that the storm was expected to make landfall between Saturday and Sunday. Lee was expected to dump rain on already saturated ground, which could lead to flash flooding.

    “This storm will be affecting more than just the coast,” Abrams said. “… The winds will ramp up on Friday, crank through the day on Saturday and then slowly start to taper off as we head into our Sunday.”

    A satellite image shows Hurricane Lee churning in the Atlantic Ocean at 12:26 p.m. EDT on Sept. 14, 2023.
    A satellite image shows Hurricane Lee churning in the Atlantic Ocean at 12:26 p.m. EDT on Sept. 14, 2023.

    NOAA/NESDIS/STAR GOES-East


    What category is Hurricane Lee?

    As of 5 p.m. EDT on Thursday, Lee was a Category 1 storm with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph, according to the hurricane center.

    Hurricane-force winds were extending up to 105 miles from the center of Lee and tropical-storm-force winds were extending up to 345 miles from the center. A buoy located about 75 miles west of Lee’s center measured a sustained wind of 67 mph that lasted for one minute.

    Hurricanes are rated in categories from 1 to 5 based on the speed of its maximum sustained winds. Although Category 1 storms are considered the lowest rating, the hurricane center says they’re “very dangerous” and could damage homes and power lines, causing outages that could go on for days.

    Hurricane Lee’s “cone of uncertainty”

    The hurricane center releases forecast cones for tropical cyclones showing the probable path for a storm’s center. The forecast cone is sometimes called the “cone of uncertainty” because the storm’s center historically moves outside of the probable path “about a third of the time,” according to the center. Officials urge people to not focus entirely on a storm’s center because its effects can be felt hundreds of miles away.

    The forecast cone for Lee shows its center potentially making landfall between eastern Maine and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

    A map from the National Hurricane Center shows the probable path of Hurricane Lee as of 5 p.m. EDT on Sept. 14, 2023.
    A map from the National Hurricane Center shows the probable path of Hurricane Lee as of 5 p.m. EDT on Sept. 14, 2023.

    National Hurricane Center


    Where is Hurricane Lee?

    The center of the storm was about 210 miles west of Bermuda and about 665 miles south of Nantucket, Massachusetts, according to the hurricane center. Lee was moving north at 15 mph.

    Ahead of the storm, a hurricane watch was in effect from Stonington, Maine, to the U.S.-Canada border and parts of eastern Canada. The watch means hurricane conditions are possible for the area.

    A tropical storm warning was issued from Westport, Massachusetts, to the U.S.-Canada border, including Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, the hurricane center said. The warning means tropical storm conditions are expected in the area within 36 hours.

    Meanwhile, a tropical storm watch was in effect for parts of eastern Canada. The watch means tropical storm conditions were possible within the area within 48 hours.

    Alex Sundby

    Alex Sundby is a senior editor for CBSNews.com

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  • Hurricane Lee churns toward New England

    Hurricane Lee churns toward New England

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    Hurricane Lee churns toward New England – CBS News


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    Hurricane Lee is on course to reach the New England coastline and Atlantic Canada by this weekend, bringing the threat of storm surges and coastal flooding. Meteorologist Chris Warren with The Weather Channel has the forecast.

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  • New England grapples with flooding, possible tornado ahead of Hurricane Lee’s arrival

    New England grapples with flooding, possible tornado ahead of Hurricane Lee’s arrival

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    The New England area this week has faced torrential rain, flooding, sinkholes and a possible tornado — all as residents prepare for the impending arrival of Hurricane Lee.

    Lee, now a Category 2 storm, continued to creep up along the Northeast coast on Thursday, spawning a hurricane watch from Stonington, Maine to the U.S.-Canadian border. Areas including Block Island, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket are also under a tropical storm watch while a storm surge warning has been issued for Cape Cod Bay and Nantucket.

    With wind speeds topping 100 mph, Hurricane Lee was churning some 265 miles southwest of Bermuda and about 795 miles south of Nantucket, according to the National Hurricane Center’s most recent update. It noted that “tropical storm conditions” are already impacting Bermuda while “dangerous surf and rip current conditions are affecting much of the east coast and the United States.”

    Though the storm is expected to weaken as it trudges northward, forecasters warned that winds could begin to buffet New England as early as Friday. Lee’s center is expected to pass close to the region’s southeast before ripping across or near Maine, and then moving over Atlantic Canada over the weekend as a “large and dangerous cyclone,” according to the National Hurricane Center.

    NOAA via AP

    Hurricane Lee looks poised to wallop New England later this week even as the region still deals with the impact of days of wild weather that produced torrential rain, flooding, sinkholes and a likely tornado.

    The hurricane’s arrival is only the latest weather woe for New England, where residents for the last two weeks have been drenched with rainfall levels more than 300% above normal, according to weather service data.

    The National Weather Service in Boston said radar data and videos showed an apparent tornado roaring through Rhode Island and Connecticut on Wednesday. Just 24 hours earlier, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey issued a state of emergency following the “catastrophic flash flooding and property damage” across two counties and several nearby communities. It came as certain regions experienced 10 inches of rainfall — unrelated to the hurricane — over the course of just six hours. She added that the state’s emergency management agency is watching the weather as well as the conditions of dams.

    Healey also urged residents to take flood warnings seriously and to stay off the roads when told.

    In Leominster, Mass., the rainfall resulted in several sinkholes, including one at a car dealership that swallowed several vehicles. What’s more, the soggy soil paired with Lee’s raging winds will also increase the likelihood of downed trees, which in turn could knock out essential power lines.

    “The ground is saturated,” Leominster Mayor Dean Mazzarella said. “It can’t take in anymore.”

    With News Wire Services

     

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    Jessica Schladebeck

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  • Rain-soaked New England hit by likely tornado amid wild weather ahead of Hurricane Lee’s arrival

    Rain-soaked New England hit by likely tornado amid wild weather ahead of Hurricane Lee’s arrival

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    LEOMINSTER, Mass. — LEOMINSTER, Mass. (AP) — Hurricane Lee barreled north toward New England on Wednesday and threatened to unleash violent storms on the region just as communities in Massachusetts and Rhode Island were dealing with tornado warnings and another day of heavy rain that opened up sinkholes and brought devastating flooding to several communities.

    The National Hurricane Center issued a hurricane watch for portions of Maine. A tropical storm watch was issued for a large area of coastal New England from parts of Rhode Island to Stonington, Maine, including Block Island, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket.

    The National Weather Service in Boston said that looking at radar data and videos it appears likely that a tornado toppled trees and knocked down power lines in Rhode Island and Connecticut on Wednesday. Rob Megnia, a meteorologist with the weather service, said they received reports of about 20 trees down in Killingly, Connecticut, and trees and power lines down in Foster, Rhode Island.

    The agency said it would survey the storm damage in both states on Thursday to help determine the tornado’s strength, maximum wind speed and its path.

    Emergency sirens could be heard late Wednesday afternoon in parts of Providence, Rhode Island, as cellphones pinged with a tornado warning. In Lincoln, Rhode Island, photos after the storm showed at least one roof damaged, a trampoline blown into some trees and the press box at the high school stadium tipped into the bleachers.

    The weather service also issued a flash flood warning for parts of Connecticut until 9:45 p.m.

    In North Attleborough, Massachusetts, which was hit by heavy flooding Monday night, Sean Pope was watching the forecast with unease.

    Heavy rains had turned his swimming pool into a mud pit and filled his basement with 3 feet (91 centimeters) of water. He has been able to get the power back on in the first and second floor of the home he shares with his wife and three children, but he worried about more flooding.

    “I am hanging on, hoping and watching the forecast and looking for hot spots where it may rain and where there are breaks,” he said. “It’s raining really hard again so we have to make sure the pumps are working.”

    Elsewhere in the state, Leominster resident Zac Brown was still cleaning up his home and backyard Wednesday after flood waters from a nearby stream flooded his basement, washed away part of his retaining walls and dumped rocks, boulders and other debris in his backyard.

    He remembers his frantic efforts to survive the floods, including rushing to shut down the power, knocking on roommates’ and tenants’ doors and telling them to leave. While he built a “blockade” of cement bags, he said there wasn’t much he could do if more rain came.

    “I have no physical attachment to the house, so if it goes, it goes and that’s what God wants, and if it doesn’t, it doesn’t and that’s awesome,” Brown said.

    Late Tuesday, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey issued a state of emergency following the “catastrophic flash flooding and property damage” in two counties and other communities. The 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain over six hours earlier in the week was a “200-year event,” said Matthew Belk, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Boston.

    Healey said Wednesday that while there aren’t plans to call up the National Guard, the state’s emergency management agency is keeping a close eye on the weather and is prepared to offer assistance.

    She said the state is monitoring the conditions of dams in many communities and urged residents to take seriously any flood warnings and to stay off the roads when ordered.

    “Something that looks pretty minor can, just within a couple of hours, turn into something very serious, potentially deadly and very, very destructive,” Healey said.

    The rain created several sinkholes in Leominster, Massachusetts, including one at a dealership where several cars were swallowed up. In Providence, Rhode Island, downpours flooded a parking lot and parts of a shopping mall. Firefighters used inflatable boats to rescue more than two dozen people stranded in cars.

    Parking lots at several businesses briefly became lakes in Leominster and North Attleborough, and many front yards were still partially covered in water. The sounds of generators filled the air in many neighborhoods, as residents worked to remove water from their basements.

    John DeCicco, a retired school teacher in Leominster who loaned generators to neighbors, said residents of the close-knit community about 40 miles (65 kilometers) northwest of Boston were helping each other clean up and opening their homes to others whose residences are uninhabitable.

    Dawn Packer, who runs a North Attleborough home preschool, had looked across the street Monday evening to see a UPS truck floating in several feet of water. Soon her yard was flooding.

    “All of sudden, the door smashed open. The water was so forceful. It just smashed the door open and poured in, 4 feet,” she said.

    After a dry day, it started raining in Leominster again Wednesday afternoon. Parts of Massachusetts and Rhode Island were under a flash flood warning. Earlier in the day, there were heavy downpours in Danbury, Connecticut, where officials said they had to rescue several people from vehicles stuck in floodwaters.

    “The ground is saturated. It can’t take in anymore,” Leominster Mayor Dean Mazzarella said at a news conference Wednesday. But he said the city had emergency resources at the ready “for whatever the weather brings.”

    Mazarella said up to 300 people were evacuated by Tuesday morning in the city, which has not seen such widespread damage since a 1936 hurricane. Most buildings downtown flooded and some collapsed. He said the city was trying to help get assistance to homeowners and businesses that suffered damage. He said early estimates on city infrastructure restoration projects could be anywhere from $25 million to $40 million.

    New England has experienced its share of flooding this summer, including a storm that dumped up to two months of rain in two days in Vermont in July, resulting in two deaths. Scientists are finding that storms around the world are forming in a warmer atmosphere, making extreme rainfall a more frequent reality now. A warming world will only make that worse.

    ___

    This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Dawn Packer’s last name in one instance, from Packard, and to correct the time elements in the portion of the story where Packer is included.

    ___

    McCormack reported from Concord, New Hampshire. Associated Press writers Holly Ramer in New Hampshire, Steve LeBlanc and Rodrique Ngowi in Massachusetts, David Sharp in Maine, Lisa Rathke in Vermont, David Lieb in Missouri, and Lisa Baumann in Washington state contributed to this report.

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  • Hurricane Lee’s path remains unclear

    Hurricane Lee’s path remains unclear

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    Hurricane Lee’s path remains unclear – CBS News


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    Hurricane Lee was a Category 3 storm Monday as it continued churning in the Atlantic. Its ultimate path was not clear, however. The Weather Channel meteorologist Chris Warren is tracking the storm.

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  • Hurricane Lee unleashes heavy swell on northern Caribbean as it charges through open waters

    Hurricane Lee unleashes heavy swell on northern Caribbean as it charges through open waters

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    SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Hurricane Lee barreled Sunday through open waters just northeast of the Caribbean, unleashing heavy swell on several islands as it restrengthened.

    The Category 3 storm is not forecast to make landfall and is expected to stay over open waters through Friday. On late Sunday afternoon, it was centered about 285 miles (455 kilometers) north-northeast of the northern Leeward Islands. It had winds of up to 120 mph (195 kph) and it was moving west-northwest at 8 mph (13 kph).

    Last week, Lee strengthened from a Category 1 storm to a Category 5 storm in just one day.

    “We had the perfection conditions for a hurricane: warm waters and hardly any wind shear,” said Lee Ingles, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in San Juan.

    Lee is expected to strengthen further in upcoming days and will then weaken again, according to the National Hurricane Center.

    Breaking waves of up to 20 feet (6 meters) were forecast for Puerto Rico and nearby islands starting early this week, with authorities warning people to stay out of the water. Coastal flooding also was expected for some areas along Puerto Rico’s north coast and the eastern portion of St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, according to the National Weather Service in San Juan.

    The National Hurricane Center noted that dangerous surf and rip currents were expected to hit most of the U.S. East Coast starting Sunday, but that the hurricane’s impact beyond that is still unclear.

    “It is way too soon to know what level of impacts, if any, Lee might have along the U.S. East Coast, Atlantic Canada, or Bermuda, especially since the hurricane is expected to slow down considerably over the southwestern Atlantic.” the center said.

    Lee was forecast to take a northward turn by Wednesday. However, its path after that remained unclear.

    “Regardless, dangerous surf and rip currents are expected along most of the U.S. East Coast this week as Lee grows in size,” the center said.

    Lee is the 12th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30 and peaked on Sunday.

    Tropical Storm Margot became the 13th named storm after forming Thursday evening, but was far out in the Atlantic and posed no threat to land. It was located about 1,175 miles (1,895 kilometers) west-northwest of the Cabo Verde Islands on Sunday. Its winds had risen to 65 mph (100 kph) and it was forecast to strengthen into a hurricane on Monday. It was moving north-northwest at 9 mph (15 kph).

    The National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration in August forecast between 14 and 21 named storms this season. Six to 11 of them are expected to become hurricanes, and of those, two to five might develop into major hurricanes.

    In the Pacific, Jova weakened to a remnant low as it whirled over open waters far from Mexico’s southwest coast and posed no threat to land.

    It was about 1,135 miles (1,830 kilometers) west of the southern tip of Baja California on Sunday and moving northwest at 8 mph (13 kph) with winds up to 35 mph (55 kph).

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  • Hurricane Lee is charting a new course in weather and could signal more monster storms

    Hurricane Lee is charting a new course in weather and could signal more monster storms

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    ATLANTA — Hurricane Lee is rewriting old rules of meteorology, leaving experts astonished at how rapidly it grew into a goliath Category 5 hurricane.

    Lee could also be a dreadful harbinger of what is to come as ocean temperatures climb, spawning fast-growing major hurricanes that could threaten communities farther north and farther inland, experts say.

    “Hurricanes are getting stronger at higher latitudes,” said Marshall Shepherd, director of the University of Georgia’s Atmospheric Sciences Program and a past president of the American Meteorological Society. “If that trend continues, that brings into play places like Washington, D.C., New York and Boston.”

    As the oceans warm, they act as jet fuel for hurricanes.

    “That extra heat comes back to manifest itself at some point, and one of the ways it does is through stronger hurricanes,” Shepherd said.

    During the overnight hours on Thursday, Lee shattered the standard for what meteorologists call rapid intensification — when a hurricane’s sustained winds increase by 35 mph (56 kph) in 24 hours.

    “This one increased by 80 mph (129 kph),” Shepherd said. “I can’t emphasize this enough — we used to have this metric of 35 mph, and here’s a storm that did twice that amount and we’re seeing that happen more frequently,” said Shepherd, who describes what happened with Lee as “hyper-intensification.”

    With super-warm ocean temperatures and low wind shear, “all the stars were aligned for it to intensify rapidly,” said Kerry Emanuel, professor emeritus of atmospheric science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

    Category 5 status — when sustained winds are at least 157 mph or 253 kph — is quite rare. Only about 4.5% of named storms in the Atlantic Ocean have grown to a Category 5 in the past decade, said Brian McNoldy, a scientist and hurricane researcher at the University of Miami.

    More intense major hurricanes are also threatening communities farther inland, since the monster storms can grow so powerful that they remain dangerous hurricanes for longer distances over land.

    “I think that’s a story that’s kind of under-told,” Shepherd said. “As these storms are strong coming to landfall, in some cases they’re moving fast enough that they’re still hurricanes well inland.”

    Hurricane Idalia was the latest example, when it came ashore in the Florida Panhandle last month and remained a hurricane as it entered south Georgia.

    It then slammed into the Georgia city of Valdosta more than 70 miles (116 kilometers) away from where it made landfall. At least 80 homes in the Valdosta area were destroyed and hundreds of others damaged.

    In 2018, Hurricane Michael carved a similar path of inland destruction, tearing up cotton crops and pecan trees and leaving widespread damage across south Georgia.

    While it’s too early to know how close Lee might come to the U.S. East Coast, New Englanders are keeping a wary eye on the storm as some models have projected it tracking perilously close to New England – particularly Maine. It has been 69 years since a major hurricane made landfall in New England, McNoldy said.

    On Sept. 8, 1869, a Category 3 hurricane known as “the September Gale of 1869” struck Rhode Island, the National Weather Service in Boston noted on Friday. The storm cut all telegraph lines between Boston and New York and capsized a schooner, killing 11 crew members.

    “If Lee actually does make landfall in New England, there’s no doubt the storm surge would be a huge threat,” he said.

    As Lee roils the ocean as it creeps closer to the eastern coast of the U.S., it could bring high seas and rip currents all up and down the eastern seaboard.

    “What we are going to see from Lee — and we’re very confident — is it’s going to be a major wave producer,” Mike Brennan, director of the National Hurricane Center, said in a Friday briefing.

    “This morning the highest significant wave height we were analyzing in Lee was between 45 and 50 feet, and the highest waves could even be double that,” Brennan said. “So we could be looking at 80, 90-foot waves associated with Lee.”

    Emanuel was tracking the storm this weekend in New Harbor, Maine. Since it has been so long for any type of hurricane warning in New England, some residents might be complacent and think that hurricanes are a Florida or Louisiana problem, he said.

    “One worries whether they’re going to take it seriously when it comes to that,” he said.

    Forecasters will be watching any possible interaction in coming days between Lee and newly formed Tropical Storm Margot, which is expected to become a hurricane next week.

    It’s possible that Margot could alter Lee’s path, though it’s too soon to know whether that will happen, experts say.

    Margot is far to the east of Lee, but as Margot strengthens it could affect the weather systems in the region that steer hurricanes.

    A phenomenon known as the Fujiwhara Effect can occur when two tropical storms rotate around each other, but that doesn’t mean they will in this case, Emanuel said. If it does happen, though, the two storms could push each other around in the Atlantic, which could alter their paths.

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  • Hurricane Lee is charting a new course in weather and could signal more monster storms

    Hurricane Lee is charting a new course in weather and could signal more monster storms

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    ATLANTA — Hurricane Lee is rewriting old rules of meteorology, leaving experts astonished at how rapidly it grew into a goliath Category 5 hurricane.

    Lee could also be a dreadful harbinger of what is to come as ocean temperatures climb, spawning fast-growing major hurricanes that could threaten communities farther north and farther inland, experts say.

    “Hurricanes are getting stronger at higher latitudes,” said Marshall Shepherd, director of the University of Georgia’s Atmospheric Sciences Program and a past president of the American Meteorological Society. “If that trend continues, that brings into play places like Washington, D.C., New York and Boston.”

    As the oceans warm, they act as jet fuel for hurricanes.

    “That extra heat comes back to manifest itself at some point, and one of the ways it does is through stronger hurricanes,” Shepherd said.

    During the overnight hours on Thursday, Lee shattered the standard for what meteorologists call rapid intensification — when a hurricane’s sustained winds increase by 35 mph (56 kph) in 24 hours.

    “This one increased by 80 mph (129 kph),” Shepherd said. “I can’t emphasize this enough — we used to have this metric of 35 mph, and here’s a storm that did twice that amount and we’re seeing that happen more frequently,” said Shepherd, who describes what happened with Lee as “hyper-intensification.”

    With super-warm ocean temperatures and low wind shear, “all the stars were aligned for it to intensify rapidly,” said Kerry Emanuel, professor emeritus of atmospheric science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

    Category 5 status — when sustained winds are at least 157 mph or 253 kph — is quite rare. Only about 4.5% of named storms in the Atlantic Ocean have grown to a Category 5 in the past decade, said Brian McNoldy, a scientist and hurricane researcher at the University of Miami.

    More intense major hurricanes are also threatening communities farther inland, since the monster storms can grow so powerful that they remain dangerous hurricanes for longer distances over land.

    “I think that’s a story that’s kind of under-told,” Shepherd said. “As these storms are strong coming to landfall, in some cases they’re moving fast enough that they’re still hurricanes well inland.”

    Hurricane Idalia was the latest example, when it came ashore in the Florida Panhandle last month and remained a hurricane as it entered south Georgia.

    It then slammed into the Georgia city of Valdosta more than 70 miles (116 kilometers) away from where it made landfall. At least 80 homes in the Valdosta area were destroyed and hundreds of others damaged.

    In 2018, Hurricane Michael carved a similar path of inland destruction, tearing up cotton crops and pecan trees and leaving widespread damage across south Georgia.

    While it’s too early to know how close Lee might come to the U.S. East Coast, New Englanders are keeping a wary eye on the storm as some models have projected it tracking perilously close to New England – particularly Maine. It has been 69 years since a major hurricane made landfall in New England, McNoldy said.

    On Sept. 8, 1869, a Category 3 hurricane known as “the September Gale of 1869” struck Rhode Island, the National Weather Service in Boston noted on Friday. The storm cut all telegraph lines between Boston and New York and capsized a schooner, killing 11 crew members.

    “If Lee actually does make landfall in New England, there’s no doubt the storm surge would be a huge threat,” he said.

    As Lee roils the ocean as it creeps closer to the eastern coast of the U.S., it could bring high seas and rip currents all up and down the eastern seaboard.

    “What we are going to see from Lee — and we’re very confident — is it’s going to be a major wave producer,” Mike Brennan, director of the National Hurricane Center, said in a Friday briefing.

    “This morning the highest significant wave height we were analyzing in Lee was between 45 and 50 feet, and the highest waves could even be double that,” Brennan said. “So we could be looking at 80, 90-foot waves associated with Lee.”

    Emanuel was tracking the storm this weekend in New Harbor, Maine. Since it has been so long for any type of hurricane warning in New England, some residents might be complacent and think that hurricanes are a Florida or Louisiana problem, he said.

    “One worries whether they’re going to take it seriously when it comes to that,” he said.

    Forecasters will be watching any possible interaction in coming days between Lee and newly formed Tropical Storm Margot, which is expected to become a hurricane next week.

    It’s possible that Margot could alter Lee’s path, though it’s too soon to know whether that will happen, experts say.

    Margot is far to the east of Lee, but as Margot strengthens it could affect the weather systems in the region that steer hurricanes.

    A phenomenon known as the Fujiwhara Effect can occur when two tropical storms rotate around each other, but that doesn’t mean they will in this case, Emanuel said. If it does happen, though, the two storms could push each other around in the Atlantic, which could alter their paths.

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  • Hurricane Lee set to impact East Coast, forecasters say

    Hurricane Lee set to impact East Coast, forecasters say

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    Hurricane Lee set to impact East Coast, forecasters say – CBS News


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    Hurricane Lee, which was a Category 4 storm Friday churning northwest through the Atlantic Ocean, is forecast to impact much of the East Coast beginning next week. Meteorologist Chris Warren with The Weather Channel has the latest.

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