Hurricane Lee hits the US TODAY with 80 mph winds and 20-foot waves: Maine declares a state of emergency as Long Island homeowners batten down the hatches
- Lee will produce potentially life-threatening storm surges on Friday and Saturday
- A Category 1 storm triggered Maine’s first hurricane warning in 15 years
- Nantucket, Cape Cod and the Long Island coast are also preparing for the storm’s impact
Hurricane Lee is barreling toward New England, bringing 20-foot waves and 85 mph winds and triggering warnings in Maine, Massachusetts, New York and Canada amid fears of deadly storm surges and tornadoes.
The storm raged through the Caribbean overnight, devastating the Dominican Republic and Bermuda before moving north, targeting New England.
It will make landfall in Canada but will cause enormous waves along much of the New England coast along its path.
In an announcement this morning, the National Hurricane Center said tropical storm conditions will begin across the United States this afternoon.
In the Hamptons, waterfront homeowners are scrambling to secure their homes before the storm arrives.
on Friday photographed many people rushing to pour sand into their homes as the storm approached.
A stake property on Dune Road, a notoriously expensive street, appeared to be in a particularly precarious position.
Race against Lee: Workers rush to a house on stilts on Dune Road on Long Island in Hampton Bays
In Maine, the governor has issued a hurricane warning for the first time in 15 years, while the National Guard on Long Island is ready to fill homes with sandbags and respond to emergencies.
In New Jersey, anyone who goes swimming will be fined up to $200 while beach warnings are in effect.
After a deluge of rain, flooding, sinkholes and tornadoes this week, New England is facing Hurricane Lee.
When the Category 1 system hit Bermuda, Maine was under its first hurricane watch in 15 years and a state of emergency was declared Thursday by Gov. Janet Mills.
The water-rich region braced for 20-foot (6-meter) waves offshore and wind gusts of up to 80 miles per hour (129 km/h), along with more rain.
Coastal homes on Long Island are among the most at-risk homes. Workers today tried to secure a property before the storm hit
New satellite images released this morning by NOAA show Hurricane Lee barreling toward the East Coast
There is concern about many homes on Long Island’s coastline that are heavily damaged during hurricane season
The house sits on a tiny piece of land between Shinnecock Bay and the Atlantic Ocean
Davis & Tripp Marina and Boat Yard crews pull a sailboat named Hurricane from the waters of Padanaram Harbor in Dartmouth, Massachusetts
The hull of a boat is cleaned after it was pulled out of the water ahead of Hurricane Lee on Thursday, September 14, 2023, at York Harbor Marine in York, Maine
Surfers and others spend a day on Rockaway Beach as the effects of Hurricane Lee bring large surges and surf to much of the Northeast, September 14, 2023, in New York City
The hurricane warning was in effect for eastern Maine, while a tropical storm warning was in effect for the rest of the state and an area stretching south through Massachusetts.
Strong winds and flooding were expected to arrive on the coast of southern New England Friday afternoon and spread north.
Although Lee did not contribute to the flooding that hit New England earlier in the week, she threatened to worsen conditions in a region already inundated.
The Coast Guard and emergency officials warned New England residents to be prepared, and utilities deployed reinforcements to deal with any power outages.
At Boothbay Harbor Marina in Maine, the community came together to pull boats out of the water to protect them from danger.
“It’s a day to lower the bars,” owner Kim Gillies said Thursday.
Surfers spend a day at Rockaway Beach as the effects of Hurricane Lee bring large surges and breakers to much of the Northeast on September 14, 2023 in New York City. Anyone found in the water in New Jersey starting Friday will be fined