Lee lashes Maine, Canada with whipping winds, heavy rain as thousands remain without power
BAR HARBOR, Maine - The cleanup is underway in Maine and Canada after Post-Tropical Cyclone Lee blasted heavy rain and strong winds that knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of customers and killed at least two people.
On the heels of Lee, another storm system will be swooping into the Northeast, bringing the risk of more heavy rain for the third time in less than a week.
Lee leaves at least 2 dead in Florida, Maine
Winds from Lee brought down a large tree in Maine that crashed through the windshield of a van, narrowly missing the driver and his passengers. (Maine State Police/Facebook)
At least two deaths have been attributed to Lee so far, and other Lee-related injuries have been reported.
The first death occurred in Florida earlier this week as then-Hurricane Lee churned up the Atlantic Ocean and caused dangerous rip currents along the coast. Officials in Fernandina Beach said a 15-year-old boy drowned.
FLORIDA, MAINE REPORT FATALITIES CONNECTED TO LEE
Officials said the teen was swimming with two other people when he disappeared after falling off a raft. The two other swimmers were helped back to shore, but a search was launched for the missing teen, and his body was eventually found.
On Saturday, police said winds from Post-Tropical Cyclone Lee knocked down a tree onto a car in Searsport, Maine, and killed a 50-year-old man inside.
Officials said the tree also took down power lines, and first responders needed to wait for power to be cut in order to reach the victim. They eventually were able to reach the victim and took him to a local hospital where he later died.
A group of people driving in Moro Plantation, Maine had a close call when a large tree fell across Route 11.
Maine State Police said the driver of a van swerved to avoid the tree but was unable to avoid it. The top of the tree then went through the windshield, narrowly missing the driver and his passenger.
The driver received minor injuries, and no injuries were reported to any of the passengers.
A tree is seen on a police cruiser in Cohasset, Massachusetts, on Saturday, September 16, 2023. (FOX Weather)
A police officer was able to escape injuries in Cohasset, Massachusetts, after winds from Lee brought down a large tree. Police said an officer responded to reports of low-hanging wires in the area of South Maine Street and River Road on Saturday.
While the officer was outside his cruiser, he said he heard a loud snap and saw the large tree falling toward him. He was able to run and get out of the way before the tree landed on his cruiser.
What’s next for Lee?
Here's a look at the current power outages across the Northeast.(FOX Weather)
More than 300,000 customers in the U.S. and Canada lost power during the peak of Lee, however, crews have been out in full force making repairs to downed utility lines to bring customers back online.
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A TROPICAL STORM AND A SUBTROPICAL STORM?
As of Sunday morning, there were more than 43,000 customers in the dark in Maine while about 113,000 were without power in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.
Cell phone service was also reported to be spotty in the region, which was likely a result of widespread power outages.
Here's a look at the latest with Post-Tropical-Cyclone Lee.(FOX Weather)
Lee made landfall just after 4 p.m. on Saturday in Long Island, Nova Scotia with winds of about 70 mph. As of Sunday morning, Post-Tropical-Cyclone Lee had maximum sustained winds of 50 mph with higher gusts and was moving to the northeast at 22 mph.
That movement is expected to continue over the next few days, and the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Lee would move over Newfoundland on Sunday afternoon and then back over the Atlantic Ocean by Monday.
Boat breaks free, slams into Maine pier
On Saturday morning, FOX Weather meteorologist Michael Estime was covering the storm from Bar Harbor, Maine, when he witnessed a boat being forcefully propelled by strong waves towards a concrete pier before it slammed into a seawall.
"We watched as one of these boats … became unhinged and the boat was rocking and rolling … and within 30 seconds that wind took that boat and smacked it up against the seawall right behind Pier No. 2, and then we lost it as it sailed out of our field of vision," he said.
Lee caused whipping winds from New England to Canada
Here's a look at Lee's top wind reports.(FOX Weather)
Lee produced hurricane-force wind gusts in both the U.S. and Canada before making landfall.
In Perry, Maine, near the Canada–U.S. border, a wind gust reached 83 mph early Saturday morning. A gust on Canada's Grand Manan Island reached 93 mph while Halifax, Nova Scotia has hit 73 mph. An observation site in New Brunswick reported a wind gust of 93 mph.
At the higher elevations, Lee helped produce a wind gust of 96 mph at Mount Washington in New Hampshire.