Tropical Storm Lee formed in the Atlantic Tuesday and was forecast to rapidly intensify into a dangerous major hurricane over the next few days.
Lee was quickly strengthening and had maximum sustained winds of 70 mph about 1,200 miles east-southeast of the Northern Leeward Islands Wednesday, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
The system was expected to become a hurricane later Wednesday and could become a major hurricane by Friday, the NHC said.
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It was moving to the west-northwest and was expected to continue in that direction over the next few days.
It's too early to say where the system was heading after that, though models remained pretty consistent in keeping the system north of the Northern Leeward Islands and Puerto Rico.
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The models have also kept Lee away from Florida and the southeastern U.S.
A second tropical wave was also being watched near the coast of West Africa and has a 60% chance of formation over the next week, the NHC said.
Lee is now the 12th named storm of the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration called for an "above-normal" season in its updated forecast last month, with 14-21 named storms including 6-11 that could become hurricanes and 2-5 that could become major hurricanes.
