Hurricane Lee, at 100 mph, will send a 60-foot sea surge to the U.S. coast tonight
A towering 60-foot sea wave will hit the U.S. coast tonight, as Hurricane Lee’s 100-mph winds “saturate” the region with a torrential deluge.
Up to half a foot of rain is expected in parts of the country, while huge waves blown by strong winds could topple trees and destroy power lines, leading to power outages “lasting several days.”
A National Hurricane Center (NOAA) hurricane watch is in effect for Maine, parts of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick as “life-threatening” storm conditions threaten wider parts of New England.
Gusts could reach 100 mph in high-risk areas as the “mega” hurricane launches its attack over the next 36 hours.
Hurricane Lee is heading towards the US coast
Weather channel
“This is going to be massive, and we could see up to 60 feet of rain in the worst affected area, which is expected to be the Bay of Fundy,” said Jim Dale, a US weather correspondent and meteorologist at the British Weather Service. Which is located between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
“The high tide will be a combination of the usual high tide of about 50 feet and the same high which may be up to 10 feet above that.
“We are also looking at flooding, and up to 10 inches of rain could fall in a short period.”
Winds from the storm will extend 300 miles across the Atlantic Ocean before reaching storm force upon landfall.
The impact is inevitable, with Saturday looking set to be the worst day for the attack, warned Dominica Davis, a meteorologist at The Weather Channel (IBM).
“For the coast, because the storm is so massive and tropical storm force winds are extending for about 300 miles, you will have some wind impact and the main day will be Saturday,” she said.
“We’re looking at tropical storm force winds on Nantucket and Cape Cod through the Boston area and all the way up the Maine coast.
“We can expect wind gusts of 40, 50 or even 60 mph, which means the possibility of widespread power outages along the coast is still possible on Saturday.”
American regions are in the line of heavy rain
Weather channel
It warned that although the threat of hurricane surge extends up to 500 miles of the US coast, Maine and Cape Cod Bay face the brunt of the attack.
“We could see an additional inch or two across parts of the Cape, and upwards of three to four inches across parts of the Maine coast, an area where the ground is already saturated,” she said.
“We are anticipating a storm surge along the coast, but the place where we expect the heaviest storm is in Cape Cod Bay.
“Northeast winds will help water accumulate and we could see a storm surge of 2 to 4 feet on Saturday.”
“The ground is saturated and cannot absorb any additional heavy rainfall.
“It appears that the heaviest rain will remain off the New England coast. However, some bands of heavy rain could still affect coastal New England, especially from Cape Cod to eastern Maine.
“Be prepared for the possibility of a power outage that could last for several hours or a few days.”
