Hurricane Lee and Climate Change
As of September 15, 2023, Hurricane Lee makes a final approach to the New England region and has been predicted to make landfall within the late evening hours, into the morning of September 16, 2023. Hurricane Lee marks one of the fourteen named storms reported in 2023- five of which were hurricanes, (Burke). Lee started course as a Category 1 storm, quickly increasing to a Category 5 within days– only to weaken back down to a Category 1, (Burke). The National Weather Service reported Lee will cause winds as high as 75 mph and a 2–4-foot surge in water levels around the coasts of Massachusetts, New York, Maine, and Nova Scotia- where the center mass of the storm will officially make landfall. New Englanders and Canadians alike prepare for impact- with President Joe Biden issuing a state of emergency for Maine and Massachusetts. However, as Lee traversed over to the coasts of New England and Canada, it was reported that the storm was no longer classified as a hurricane; instead, Lee is now a post-tropical storm. Citizens along the coast continue to prepare for the storm, as high winds and flooding is still promised in coastal cities, (Digiammarino). The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported that hurricane season would record more storms than normal this year due to some of the warmest sea surface temperatures to record.
