Hurricane Lee strengthens, veers away from Trinidad and Tobago

The TT Meteorological Service said Hurricane Lee continues to move west-northwest and is not expected to impact TT.

In its last official statement on Hurricane Lee, the Met Office said the system was located near 16.4 degrees north, 50.0 degrees west or about 1,405 km east of the northern Leeward Islands at 11 am on Thursday.

It said Lee is moving west-northwest near 24 km per hour and this motion is expected to continue through Friday, with a slower motion over the weekend. The core of Lee will move north of the northern Leeward Islands during the next few days.

The Met Office said maximum sustained winds have increased to near 165 km per hour with higher gusts. It said the National Hurricane Center forecasts Lee to become a major hurricane late Thursday. It advised that interests in the northern Leeward Islands should monitor the progress of Lee.

The Met Office said the system poses no immediate threat to Trinidad, Tobago, Grenada and its dependencies. There are currently no alerts, watches or warnings in effect for TT.