A new tropical depression has formed in the Atlantic Ocean, as forecasters expect that the system will become a “powerful hurricane” later this week and possibly impact the East Coast.
Tropical Depression 13 has developed in the central Atlantic Ocean, and meteorologists on Tuesday said it will strengthen into a tropical storm and then Hurricane Lee.
The East Coast, along with the Caribbean and Bermuda, could be threatened by the major hurricane.
“Tropical Depression 13 forms in the Central Atlantic, forecast to become a powerful hurricane by the end of the week,” the National Hurricane Center posted on Tuesday.
“The depression is forecast to become a major hurricane by this weekend and could bring impacts to the Leeward Islands by that time,” the forecasters added. “While it is too soon to determine the location and magnitude of these possible impacts, interests in this area should monitor the progress of the depression and updates to the forecast.”
The environment around the depression appears to be ripe for strengthening. The system should be moving over record-warm waters, and as a result, it should quickly intensify.
AccuWeather forecasters are already putting the East Coast, Caribbean, Bermuda and Atlantic Canada on alert. The meteorologists predict that Hurricane Lee will become an intense Category 4 hurricane.
“This is a system we have been concerned about since late last week, as conditions are ripe for it to develop into a major hurricane and threaten the northern Caribbean, Bermuda and then perhaps even the East Coast of the United States or Atlantic Canada,” said AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter.
“By next Tuesday, the intense hurricane can be located hundreds of miles off the U.S. East Coast, in a very precarious position for potential impacts across parts of the U.S. East Coast, Bermuda or Atlantic Canada,” Porter added. “A small change in the overall steering pattern over the Eastern part of North America or the Atlantic Ocean can have major impacts on the future track of the intense hurricane.”
Meteorologists are urging residents to continue to check the hurricane’s forecast over the next week.