Hurricane Lee prompts weekend beach warnings on US east coast

Dangerous surf and rip currents expected along most of Atlantic coast from Sunday, according to the National Hurricane Center

Hurricane Lee is making its way through the Atlantic Ocean and is expected to remain a powerful hurricane through early next week, prompting warnings of dangerous beach conditions on the US east coast over the weekend.

Between Wednesday and Thursday night, Lee evolved from a category 1 tropical storm to a category 5 hurricane. It then dropped down to a category 4 hurricane, the National Hurricane Center announced on Friday morning.