(NEW YORK) — Hurricane Lee, a Category 1 storm churning in the Atlantic Ocean, is bringing dangerous rip currents to the East Coast before heading to New England, where a hurricane watch is in effect.
The winds and rain will reach Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Maine by Friday night.
Latest headlines:
-Huge waves will be main threat for New England on Friday
-Lee passes Bermuda, gets closer to New England
-Maine governor declares state of emergency
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Sep 15, 7:59 AM EDT
Huge waves will be main threat for New England on Friday
With Hurricane Lee forecast to get closer to New England by Friday night, huge waves could batter East Coast beaches and coastal communities.
Waves up to 16 feet will be possible in Long Island, New York, on Friday and Saturday.
The National Weather Service has issued a tropical storm warning from Massachusetts to Maine.
Wind-whipped rain will begin to fall in far southeastern New England near Cape Cod, Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard after 9 p.m. ET on Friday and in Boston after midnight.
Lee will push minor storm surge into the coastal Northeast areas, from Long Island to Maine, where water will rise 1 to 3 feet and some minor coastal flooding will be possible.
The worst conditions on Cape Cod and in Boston will be Friday night into Saturday morning with gusty winds, some rain, huge waves and minor coastal flooding.
ABC News’ Max Golembo
Sep 15, 6:00 AM EDT
Lee passes Bermuda, gets closer to New England
Hurricane Lee passed to the west of Bermuda late Thursday night, bringing wind gusts of up to 60 mph to the British island territory.
As of 5 a.m. ET on Friday, the eye of the storm was located about 215 miles northwest of Bermuda and 490 miles south of Nantucket, Massachusetts, according to the National Weather Service.
Lee is currently a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained wind speeds of 85 mph. The storm is a wide cyclone with tropical storm winds extending almost 320 miles from the center.
Lee is forecast to continue moving way from Bermuda and get closer to New England by Friday night, according to the National Weather Service.
By Saturday afternoon, Lee is forecast to move into Canada and make landfall somewhere between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia as an extra-tropical storm. Lee is expected move away from the United States by Saturday evening.
ABC News’ Max Golembo
Sep 14, 5:55 PM EDT
Maine governor declares state of emergency
Maine Gov. Janet Mills declared a state of emergency in anticipation of Hurricane Lee.
Mills also requested that President Joe Biden issue a preemptive Presidential Emergency Disaster to help facilitate federal resources and funds.
“We continue to strongly urge Maine people – particularly those Downeast – to exercise caution and to take steps to ensure they have what they need to stay safe as the storm draws closer,” Mills said in a statement.
Central Maine Power (CMP) and Versant, two utilities that operate in the state, are preparing for possible power outages and will be monitoring the grid closely, according to the governor.
Sep 14, 5:45 PM EDT
Tropical storm warnings extended along New England coast
The center of Hurricane Lee is currently about a couple hundred miles west of Bermuda, where a wind gust of 52 mph was reported, and 665 miles south of Nantucket, Massachusetts, according to the latest tracking update.
Lee remains a Category 1 storm with sustained winds of 85 mph.
A tropical storm warning has been extended up the New England coast and now covers areas from Massachusetts to Maine.
A tropical storm watch along the Rhode Island coast and a storm surge watch for Nantucket have been canceled, officials said.
A hurricane watch remains in effect for portions of the coast of Maine and into Nova Scotia.
ABC News’ Daniel Peck
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