Hurricane

When will Hurricane Lee turn north? Will it hit East Coast? What to know about models

It’s hard to ignore all these storm tracks.

Will Hurricane Lee go out to sea? Hit the East Coast? Slam Canada?

There are lots of hurricane models out there, often called “spaghetti models,” that show possibilities.

The best advice? Prepare for a storm, but use the National Hurricane Center’s five-day forecast track as the authoritative course.

And right now, the hurricane center predicts Lee will turn north mid-week and stay clear of Florida.

But what do some of those spaghetti models show?

Let’s take look at projected models released Saturday:

The various models released Saturday, Sept. 9.
The various models released Saturday, Sept. 9.

Internet smart jokesters think they look like this:

Internet jokesters regularly show exaggerated versions of a “spaghetti model” map of potential hurricane paths, but sometimes reality can look similar.
Internet jokesters regularly show exaggerated versions of a “spaghetti model” map of potential hurricane paths, but sometimes reality can look similar. Accuweather

Miami Herald hurricane writer Alex Harris has a few things to say about spaghetti models:

@miamiherald A storm is brewing in the Gulf of Mexico, and maps full of squiggly lines are flooding social media. Here’s what they are — and why they’re no substitute for the official forecast from the National Hurricane Center. : Read more at the link in our bio. : Alex Harris and Devoun Cetoute #miami #hurricaneseason #florida #severeweather ♬ original sound - Miami Herald

The best advice: Know all the possibilities, but focus on the hurricane center forecast track, which on Saturday, looked like this:

Hurricane Lee at 5 p.m. Saturday.
Hurricane Lee at 5 p.m. Saturday. National Hurricane Center

Miami Herald staff writer Grethel Aguila contributed to this report

This story was originally published September 9, 2023 at 5:39 PM.

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