The National Hurricane Center stated Tuesday night that Tropical Storm Lee had formed in the Atlantic and was expected to become a hurricane by Wednesday.
Tropical Storm Lee developed between Western Africa and the Windward Islands. According to the hurricane center, it was moving west-northwest at 16 mph Tuesday night and was about 1,230 miles east of the Lesser Antilles.
A steady wind speed of 50 miles per hour is its highest. According to the hurricane center, Lee is "expected to rapidly intensify into an extremely dangerous hurricane by the weekend." By Wednesday night, it is predicted to become a hurricane, and by Friday, a "major hurricane".
The National Weather Service defines a tropical storm as having maximum sustained winds of 39 to 73 mph, while a hurricane has winds of 74 mph or above.
This comes just days after Hurricane Idalia wreaked havoc across the Southeast. That hurricane made landfall in Florida, destroying homes and downing power lines. It then slammed into Georgia, flooding many South Carolina beachfront and dumping seawater into the streets of downtown Charleston. More than nine inches of rain fell in Whiteville, North Carolina, flooding downtown buildings.
At least two people were killed by Idalia, one in Florida and the other in Georgia. According to Moody's Analytics, the impact of Idalia from damage and missed economic activity is projected to be in the $12 to $20 billion range.
For the time being, there are far too many unknowns and far too many variables that could alter before the storm approaches North America. The storm is expected to move west-northwesterly, to the north of the Lesser Antilles and Puerto Rico. This is anticipated to be a large storm that moves west before turning north and then northeast. The only question is when it will make that turn. Even if this storm does not make direct landfall, it is expected to generate rip currents and large waves along the United States East Coast next week.