Hurricane Lee continues to move closer to Maine.
We get some nice weather for preparations Thursday and Friday before conditions quickly go downhill Saturday morning.
Widespread impacts are expected across Maine.
Track
Models trends and track shifts have been favorable for Maine, especially the central and southern part of the state. Hurricane Lee will likely pass east of Down East Maine, into the Bay of Fundy or western Nova Scotia.
With Hurricane Lee tracking farther to the east, rainfall will be much less across central and southern Maine and the winds won’t be as strong.
Timing
Conditions will go downhill quickly Saturday morning. Maine will see the effects of Hurricane Lee from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., with the worst conditions likely toward the middle of the day.
High tide at 12:47 p.m. will bring the biggest threat for coastal damage.
Coastal
Hurricane Lee will essentially be a large, powerful nor’easter by the time it reaches Maine. Huge waves along the coast will be the biggest threat.
At high tide at 12:47 p.m., these large waves could easily lead to some over wash and damage along the coast. Luckily, offshore wind will help to temper the threat of storm surge.
Wind
All of Maine will see gusty winds with Lee. The highest winds will be along the midcoast and Down East Maine. Winds there will gust exceeding 50 mph for many.
Farther inland for places like Lewiston and Augusta and farther down the coast from the Portland area through the New Hampshire border wind gusts will approach and potentially exceed 40 mph.
With saturated soils and stressed trees from the very wet summer, the risk of power outages is high. With a more easterly track, central and southern Maine may be spared widespread outages, but some outages are a certainty.
Midcoast and Down East Maine will see more widespread power outages because the winds will be stronger.
Rain
Outside of Down East Maine, rainfall will be the lowest on the threat list for Hurricane Lee.
Down East Maine will likely see several inches of rain with the potential for some freshwater flooding.
Central and southern Maine will be on the much drier side of Lee.
Only light rainfall amounts are expected, less than half an inch potentially for many. The freshwater flood risk outside of Down East Maine is quite low at this time.