Hurricane Lee batters northern Caribbean with heavy swell

Hurricane Lee has barreled 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 455 kilometres (285 miles) north-northeast of the northern Leeward Islands.

It had winds of up to 195 kph (120 mph) and it was moving west-northwest at 13 kph (8 mph).

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.

Dangerous for surfing

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 6 metres (20 feet) 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 US 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 US 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 US East Coast, Atlantic Canada, or Bermuda, especially since the hurricane is expected to slow down considerably over the southwestern Atlantic," the center said.

More hurricanes expected

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 US 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 November 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 1,895 kilometres (1,175 miles) west-northwest of the Cabo Verde Islands on Sunday. Its winds had risen to 100 kph (65 mph) and it was forecast to strengthen into a hurricane on Monday. It was moving north-northwest at 15 kph (9 mph).

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