Satellite image of Hurricane Lee caught on September 12, 2023, by Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite 16.
The major storm changed in intensity as it approached the U.S. East Coast.
On September 12, 2023, Hurricane Lee continued its slow west-northwest trajectory throughout the Atlantic Ocean. The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite 16 (GOES-16) acquired this image of the significant storm at approximately 1 p.m. Eastern Time (17:00 UTC) as it advanced toward the southeastern United States. The satellite is operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); NASA assists establish and release the GOES series of satellites.
Around this time, the center of the cyclone lay about 500 miles (800 kilometers) south of Bermuda and moving at 6 miles (9 kilometers) per hour. Continual winds were determined at 115 miles (185 kilometers) per hour, making it a category 3 storm on the Saffir-Simpson cyclone wind scale.
Historic Intensity Fluctuations
On its path across the ocean to this point, the cyclone changed drastically in strength, as it underwent one of the most extreme periods of rapid intensification for a North Atlantic storm in the previous 40 years. In the 24 hours ending at 2 a.m. Eastern Time (06:00 UTC) on September 8, Lees winds increased from 80 to 165 miles per hour (130 to 265 kilometers per hour), escalating it to classification 5 status. Just Hurricane Felix in 2007 and Hurricane Wilma in 2005 heightened more over a 24-hour period. Following this ramp-up, moderate to strong wind shear interrupted the storms blood circulation and damaged it to a classification 2.
On September 12, 2023, Hurricane Lee continued its sluggish west-northwest trajectory throughout the Atlantic Ocean. On its course across the ocean to this point, the typhoon fluctuated drastically in strength, as it went through one of the most severe durations of rapid intensification for a North Atlantic storm in the previous 40 years. Just Hurricane Felix in 2007 and Hurricane Wilma in 2005 intensified more over a 24-hour duration. On September 10, Hurricane Lee began to gain back strength as wind shear eased off and it passed over extremely warm waters. High sea surface temperature levels are amongst the conditions favorable to hurricane augmentation.
Map of Atlantic Ocean ea surface area temperatures on September 10, 2023.
Getting Momentum Again
That would not be the last momentum swing, nevertheless. On September 10, Hurricane Lee started to regain strength as wind shear abated and it passed over very warm waters. The map above shows sea surface temperatures on from that day based on data from the Multiscale Ultrahigh Resolution Sea Surface Temperature (MUR SST) task, a NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory effort that blends measurements of sea surface temperatures from numerous NASA, NOAA, and international satellites, as well as ship and buoy observations.
Sea Surface Temperatures and Hurricane Intensity
High sea surface area temperatures are amongst the conditions beneficial to cyclone accumulation. And 2023 has actually been a banner year for warm oceans. Years of steady warming due to environment change, in addition to El Niño conditions in the Pacific Ocean, helped drive international sea surface area temperatures into record territory for a number of months in the summer.
Meteorologists usually agree that sea surface temperatures above 27.8 degrees Celsius (82 degrees Fahrenheit) will sustain and magnify tropical cyclones, typhoons, and cyclones. Surface area waters above that threshold are revealed in red to black on the map.
Forecast for Hurricane Lee
Forecast models show that a weather condition pattern over the eastern U.S. will redirect Lee to the north. The storm is anticipated to broaden in size and compromise as it moves over cooler waters recently churned up by cyclones Franklin and Idalia. The storm will likely pass west of Bermuda, which is under a tropical storm watch, and potentially make landfall over the northeastern U.S. or Nova Scotia as a much weaker storm.
NASA Earth Observatory images by Lauren Dauphin, utilizing GOES 16 images thanks to NOAA and the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) and data from the Multiscale Ultrahigh Resolution (MUR) job.