Hurricane and tropical storm watches are in effect from Rhode Island to coastal Maine as communities brace for Hurricane Lee, a rare Category 1 storm on a direct path toward New England and Nova Scotia, which could become the first hurricane to make landfall in Maine in more than 50 years, though forecasters expect the storm to turn east toward Canada and weaken before making landfall.
A boater in Hyannis, Massachusetts, removing their boat from the harbor in preparation for Hurricane ... [+]
Hurricane watches are in effect along coastal Maine from Portland to Bar Harbor and north to the Canadian border, while tropical storm watches are in effect from inland Maine, northeast of Bangor, to southern Rhode Island, with a storm surge watch on Cape Cod and Nantucket, according to the National Weather Service.
Lee, which is traveling northward roughly 800 miles off the coast of Georgia, was downgraded to a Category 1 storm with maximum sustained winds of 90 mph late Thursday morning, according to the National Hurricane Center, after rapidly accelerating into a Category 5 major hurricane earlier this week.
Forecasters with AccuWeather project Lee to make landfall in Nova Scotia as a tropical storm before traversing eastern Canada, warning the storm will bring heavy rain, coastal flooding and damaging winds this weekend.
Preparations for the storm are underway throughout coastal New England, including on the island of Nantucket, where Harbormaster Sheila Lucey told Forbes boats have been pulled from the water or are seeking safe haven in a protected harbor, and residents have been told to stay out of the water due to dangerous rip currents.
In Maine, Gov. Janet Mills urged residents to “exercise caution” and “take common-sense steps to ensure they have all they need to stay safe” ahead of the storm, while the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency warned of “significant coastal flooding” along Cape Cod and Nantucket.
Maine is not known for hurricanes. The last hurricane that made landfall in Maine came in September 1969, when Hurricane Gerda hit Eastport, Maine—just west of the border of New Brunswick, Canada—as a Category 1 hurricane with wind speeds of 80 mph. Most Atlantic cyclones that hit Maine approach as weaker tropical storms, with winds under 74 mph, according to the Maine Emergency Management Agency. That was the case in 1991, when Hurricane Bob crossed into Maine after making landfall as a Category 2 storm in Rhode Island.
Forecasters with the NWS warn tropical storm force winds, with gusts upwards of 75 mph, will hit Maine from Saturday morning through early Sunday morning. Forecasters also warn Lee could pose a “threat to life and property,” packing “dangerous” winds that could snap trees, cause building damage and widespread power outages.
Hurricane Watch Issued For Maine As Lee Poses Rare New England Threat (Forbes)