Hurricane Lee weakened while it moved over the Atlantic Ocean east of the Northern Leeward Islands on Friday. At 11:00 p.m. EDT on Friday the center of Hurricane Lee was located at latitude 19.3°N and longitude 56.5°W which put it about 440 miles (705 km) east of the Northern Leeward Islands. Lee was moving toward the west-northwest at 13 m.p.h. (21 km/h). The maximum sustained wind speed was 115 m.p.h. (185 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 135 m.p.h. (220 km/h). The minimum surface pressure was 963 mb.

An upper level trough near Puerto Rico produced strong southwesterly winds that blew toward the top of Hurricane Lee. Those winds caused moderate vertical wind shear. Those winds also inhibited the upper level divergence in the southern side of Hurricane Lee. Hurricane Lee was unable to pump away as much mass as was flowing into Lee in the lower levels of the atmosphere. More mass accumulated in the center of Hurricane Lee and the surface pressure rose quickly on Friday.

The inner core of Hurricane Lee was disrupted by the moderate vertical wind shear. The ring of thunderstorms surrounding the eye was broken south of the center of Lee’s circulation. Bands in the southwestern part of Hurricane Lee consisted primarily of showers and lower clouds. Most of the thunderstorms were occurring in bands in the northern half of Lee’s circulation. Thunderstorms in the northern side of Lee still generated upper level divergence that pumped mass away to the north of the hurricane.

The size of the circulation around Hurricane Lee increased on Friday. Winds to hurricane force extended out 30 miles (50 km) from the center of Lee’s circulation. Winds to tropical storm force extended out 175 miles (280 km) from the center of circulation. The Hurricane Intensity Index (HII) was 20.6. The Hurricane Size Index (HSI) was 12.4 and the Hurricane Wind Intensity Size Index (HWISI) was 33.0.

Hurricane Lee will move through an environment only marginally favorable for intensification during the next 24 hours. Lee will move over water where the Sea Surface Temperatures are near 29°C. However, the upper level trough near Puerto Rico will still continue to cause vertical wind shear on Saturday. Hurricane Lee could continue to weaken during the next 24 hours.

Hurricane Lee will move around the southern side of a subtropical high pressure system over the Atlantic Ocean. The high pressure system will steer Lee toward the west-northwest during the next 24 hours. On its anticipated track, Hurricane Lee could be northeast of the Northern Leeward Islands by Saturday night.

Elsewhere over the Atlantic Ocean, Tropical Storm Margot was moved farther away from the Cabo Verde Islands. At 11:00 p.m. EDT on Friday the center of Tropical Storm Margot was located at latitude 19.5°N and longitude 35.8°W which put it about 810 miles (1310 km) west-northwest of the Cabo Verde Islands. Margot was moving toward the west-northwest at 17 m.p.h. (28 km/h). The maximum sustained wind speed was 40 m.p.h. (65 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 50 m.p.h. (80 km/h). The minimum surface pressure was 1005 mb.