Hurricane Lee live tracker: Maine declares state of emergency as storm closes in on New England

The deadly Hawaii firestorm and Hurricane Idalia’s high-water storm surge helped push the United States to a record for the number of weather disasters costing $1 billion or more. And there are still four months left that look more like a disaster calendar.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced Monday that America has experienced 23 extreme weather events costing at least $1 billion this year through August, surpassing the full-year record of 22 set in 2020 So far this year, disasters have cost more than $57.6 billion and claimed at least 253 lives.

And NOAA’s count doesn’t yet take into account the damage caused by Tropical Storm Hilary in California and the severe drought that hit the South and Midwest because those costs have yet to be added up, Adam Smith said. the NOAA applied climatologist and economist who is tracking billions of dollars in damage. Dollar disasters.

Well, the cold North Atlantic could decide that.

New England is known for its changeable weather, strong northeast winds and snowstorms.

However, destructive hurricanes are relatively rare and typically do not have the same force as tropical cyclones that strike the Southeast.

Here’s why geography matters when it comes to Lee’s likely impact on the region.

After a deluge of rain, flooding, sinkholes and tornadoes this week, New England is facing Hurricane Lee.

When the Category 1 system hit Bermuda, Maine was under its first hurricane watch in 15 years and a state of emergency was declared Thursday by the state’s governor, Janet Mills. The water-rich region braced for 20-foot waves offshore and winds of up to 80 miles per hour, along with more rain.

The hurricane warning was in effect for eastern Maine, while a tropical storm warning was in effect for the rest of the state and an area stretching south through Massachusetts. Strong winds and flooding were expected to arrive on the coast of southern New England Friday afternoon and spread north.

Although Lee did not contribute to the flooding that hit New England earlier in the week, she threatened to worsen conditions in a region already inundated.

The Coast Guard and emergency officials warned New England residents to be prepared, and utilities deployed reinforcements to deal with any power outages.

Locals from eastern coastal states posted images on social media this morning of brooding clouds and choppy waves as Hurricane Lee approaches.

Here’s the latest from the National Hurricane Center this morning:

The National Hurricane Center predicts Hurricane Lee will make landfall near the U.S. border with Canada on Saturday.

If the storm reaches the northeastern part of the east coast of the United States and Canada, it could be a post-tropical storm.

Meteorologists predict heavy rain – up to four inches – will fall across eastern Massachusetts and most of Maine, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

The storm is likely to cause flooding and strong winds could down trees and power lines, causing outages across the region.

Hurricane Lee is approaching New England less than a week after the region was drenched by heavy rains that have already eased and begun to erode soil in the area.

Central Maine Power spokesman Jon Breed told The Weather Channel that current erosion, coupled with expected rain and tropical storm-force winds from Hurricane Lee, could cause lines and trees to fall.

“[Previous rain] has resulted in excess soil, soil erosion and nutrient runoff,” he said. “This means that the root systems of some trees are rotting.”

He warned that downed lines could be extremely dangerous and recommended residents stay away from them in the event of a line collapse.

“As always when these trees bring down lines, we want our customers to stay away from these lines, which can be incredibly dangerous, and to call us so our crews can come and resolve the issue,” he said.

The National Weather Service expects Hurricane Lee’s impact on New England to peak Saturday morning and Sunday.

“It looks like the peak should be in New England early Saturday morning into Saturday evening,” said Weather Channel senior meteorologist Chris Dolce.

The hurricane is currently raging on the east coast of the USA on its way to New England.

A state of emergency has already been declared in Maine, where authorities are expecting strong winds, heavy rain, significant storm surge and possible flooding as a result of the hurricane.

Officials in Maine have declared a state of emergency ahead of Hurricane Lee’s arrival in the Northeast.

“We continue to monitor the storm closely and expect heavy rainfall and strong winds, which will likely lead to storm surge, flooding, infrastructure damage and power outages,” Gov. Janet Mills said in a social media post Thursday.

“We continue to urge Maine people – particularly in the Downeast – to exercise caution and take steps to ensure they have everything they need to stay safe as the storm approaches.”

The National Weather Service office for Portland, Maine, shared an image showing the size of Hurricane Lee as it approaches the east coast of the United States.

Hurricane Lee is expected to produce tropical-storm-force winds along the U.S. East Coast in the coming days, and Bermuda has already closed schools for Thursday and Friday as it feels the effects of the passing storm.