Weather tracker: Hurricane Lee to strengthen as it nears US east coast

Storm to continue north-westwards across Atlantic, while European temperatures to fall closer to average

Hurricane Lee, the 12th named storm of the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season, will continue on its north-westwards trajectory across the Atlantic Ocean this week. Lee rapidly developed into a category 5 hurricane last week, packing maximum sustained winds of almost 155mph (250km/h) on Friday. By Sunday, this had fallen closer to 105mph, which is classed as a category 2 hurricane.

Lee will continue to move to the north of Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, causing dangerous surf and rip currents across Bermuda and the US east coast this week. The hurricane's intensity is fluctuating at the time of writing, but it is forecast to strengthen again early this week. The National Hurricane Center is predicting maximum sustained winds of 115 knots (around 130mph) and gusts of 140 knots. Towards the middle of this week, atmospheric conditions will cause Lee to gradually turn northwards. There is significant uncertainty on the speed of Lee's movement beyond this, with its effects potentially being felt across the north-eastern US and Atlantic Canada towards the weekend.