Hurricane Lee downgrades to Category 3 storm, Tropical Storm Margot forecast to strengthen

TAMPA, Fla. - Hurricane Lee reached Category 5 strength Thursday night, making it the first category 5 storm of the 2023 hurricane season. 

As of 11 p.m. on Friday, Hurricane Lee was a Category 3 storm that was located at 19.3 degrees longitude and 56.5 degrees latitude. It had maximum sustained winds of 115 miles per hour and was moving west-northwest at 13 miles an hour. 

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According to FOX 13 Meteorologist Dave Osterberg, Hurricane Lee will fluctuate in intensity as it undergoes an eyewall replacement cycle.

The National Hurricane Center said Air Force Reserve and NOAA Hurricane Hunters were finding that Lee is not as strong but is still a major hurricane. Officials said hazardous beach conditions are expected to develop around the western Atlantic through next week.

Osterberg says Hurricane Lee will travel west-northwest throughout the weekend, not touching any land mass. As it gets to the northeast of Hispaniola though, Osterberg expects the storm to begin slowing down in response to a weakening high pressure. 

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As the high pressure weakens, a trough on the East Coast of the United States will pick it up and carry it northward. 

Osterberg says while the computer models show Hurricane Lee taking a northern turn, it is still unknown exactly where it will make that turn. He says if the storm gets close to the U.S. before making the turn to the north, it may impact Southern New England and Southeast Canada. 

Osterberg is also keeping an eye on Tropical Storm Margot, which is predicted to become a Category 1 hurricane on Sunday. 

Margot, however, is expected to stay over open waters.