Hurricane Lee is currently on a path towards western Nova Scotia and is expected to make landfall early on Sunday. As it progresses, the storm is predicted to move across the Bay of Fundy and make a second landfall in New Brunswick, near the city of Saint John.
While the exact trajectory of the storm is still uncertain, Cape Cod and Maine could potentially be affected by Lee as well, with a chance of impact on Saturday. The National Hurricane Center forecasts that Lee will hit near hurricane strength when it reaches the coast of Nova Scotia and then transition into a post-tropical storm as it moves towards New Brunswick.
Meteorologist Chris Fogarty from the Canadian Hurricane Centre anticipates heavy rainfall across Canada's Maritime provinces throughout the week caused by Hurricane Lee. The storm currently has top winds of 115 miles per hour and is categorized as a Category 3 storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale. It is tracking west-northwest at a speed of 7 mph.
Lee is a large hurricane, with hurricane-force winds extending up to 80 miles from its center and tropical-storm-force winds extending up to 185 miles. Alongside Lee, there is another storm named Margot in the central Atlantic, currently posing no threat. However, there is a 70% chance that another storm may form within the next seven days. Additionally, there are two potential storms being monitored in the western Pacific.
The Atlantic has experienced above-average tropical activity this year, with more named storms, major hurricanes, and active storm days than usual, according to Phil Klotzbach from Colorado State University.
In other weather news, search efforts have intensified in Libya after a devastating storm wreaked havoc in the country's eastern region. Around 2,000 deaths have been reported in one city alone, with many more people missing. The destruction is believed to be caused by two dams bursting due to excessive rainfall, leading to widespread flooding and the loss of entire buildings. Benghazi, Sousse, and Al-Bayda also suffered severe damage.
In Europe, the region will experience a pause in the autumnal heat on Wednesday and Thursday before unseasonal warmth returns for the following seven days.