Heavy Seas with Hurricane Lee Pose Threat to Mariners

A Hurricane Warning remains in effect for the Atlantic High Seas associated with Hurricane Lee with peak seas of around 47 feet near the center as the system moves slowly to the north off the U.S. East Coast.

Hurricane Lee is a large system that poses a danger to mariners, with significant wave heights up to 12 feet extending outwards as far as 435 nautical miles from the center. Lee will continue produce dangerous waves, with long period SE swells that can cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions along the coast.

Hurricane Lee is currently a Cat 1 hurricane with sustained winds of 85 mph.

The National Weather Service’s Ocean Prediction Center is forecasting significant wave heights of 13 meters (42 ft) off the coast of Maine and Nova Scotia through Saturday morning before conditions are expected to improve (see the forecast charts above).

Significant wave heights are a measure of the average height of the tallest one-third of waves, so individual waves are sure to be much larger.

Hurricane conditions and coastal flooding is possible in portions of Maine, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Tropical storm conditions are expected as far south as southern New England.

Check the Ocean Prediction Center’s website for the latest Atlantic forecasts. You can also watch the NWS National Hurricane Center’s Tropical Analysis and Forecast Branch’s (TAFB) Tropical Atlantic Marine Weather Briefing from Thursday below:

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