The forecast says Hurricane Lee will see 180 mph winds

Tropical Storm Lee is Expected to Flavour the Lesser Antilles and Implications for the Nature of Tropical Cyclones and Hurricanes

Several long-range models currently have Lee eventually curving north — missing the Caribbean and remaining offshore. There are models that are generally accurate. Hurricane Irma, in 2017, was supposed to follow a similar path — instead, it walloped Florida’s Gulf coast.

The NHC said that the potential for Tropical Storm Lee to hit the northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico is decreasing.

It’s not yet clear if Lee will hit anywhere, or if it will spin away from the US coast.

The system has been gaining power as it passes over “record-warm waters of near [86 degrees Fahrenheit] east of the Lesser Antilles,” the NHC said this week, adding that such warm waters are more expected in the Gulf of Mexico, not the Atlantic Ocean.

The fearsome storm is expected to keep adding power on Friday, before starting to ramp down its gaudy windspeeds a bit late Saturday and early Sunday. Still, it’s expected to solidly remain a major storm through the coming five days.

The frequency of intense and damaging tropical storms and hurricanes have been linked to climate change. As NOAA has stated, “Warming of the surface ocean from human-induced climate change is likely fueling more powerful tropical cyclones.”