WEATHER

How big is Hurricane Lee? It's as wide as the state of Montana

Atlantic hurricane season is June 1 to Nov. 30, but the busiest part of the season is August to October.

Jennifer Sangalang
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
  • Hurricane Lee was about 640 miles across, covering an area about the size of Montana, which is 630 miles wide.
  • Hurricane Idalia made landfall in Keaton Beach, Florida, before traveling up the coast to Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.

How big is Hurricane Lee? In a word: Massive.

What impact will Hurricane Lee, a Category 1 storm, have on the East Coast of the U.S.? According to the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Lee remains a large hurricane over the Western Atlantic, and tropical storm conditions are expected to begin today (Friday, Sept. 15) across parts of coastal New England.

On the forecast track, the center of Lee will continue to move farther away from Bermuda and approach the coast of New England and Atlantic Canada through Saturday. Lee is then expected to turn toward the north-northeast and northeast and move across Atlantic Canada on Saturday night and Sunday.

As of 11 a.m. Friday, the National Hurricane Center reported: "Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 105 miles from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 320 miles."

Hurricane Lee, a Category 1 storm, is massive. Shown is an image of Hurricane Lee's approximate size from the National Hurricane Center in Miami on Friday, Sept. 15, 2023.

That's a big storm. Lee had a diameter of tropical storm force winds or higher across 564 miles early this morning, with winds of hurricane force spanning 184 miles. Lee's tropical storm force winds were about the width of Montana.

How big was Hurricane Idalia?

How does Hurricane Lee compare to other storms this season? When Hurricane Idalia made landfall in Keaton Beach, Florida, as a Category 3 storm, it was about as wide as the state of Colorado.

Idalia was smaller than Lee.At landfall in Florida, Hurricane Idalia was as wide as the state of Colorado

Track the path of Hurricane Lee

What's the river water level in New England area? Here's a map to track it

Will massive Hurricane Lee cause power outages? Track power outages here

Sangalang is a lead digital producer for USA TODAY Network-Florida. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram at @byjensangalang. Support local journalism. Consider subscribing to a Florida newspaper.