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At 1100 PM AST (0300 UTC), the center of Hurricane Lee was located
near latitude 25.3 North, longitude 66.7 West. Lee is moving toward
the northwest near 7 mph (11 km/h). Lee is forecast to turn toward
the north on Thursday and increase in forward speed.
Maximum sustained winds are near 115 mph (185 km/h) with higher
gusts. Lee is a category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson
Hurricane Wind Scale. Some slow weakening is forecast during the
next 48 hours, however Lee is likely to remain a large and
dangerous hurricane for the next couple of days.
Lee is a very large hurricane. Hurricane-force winds extend
outward up to 125 miles (205 km) from the center and
tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 240 miles (390 km).
Saildrone 1036, located about 75 miles (120 km) northwest of Lee's
center, recently reported a wind gust to 88 mph (141 km/h).
The estimated minimum central pressure is 946 mb (27.94 inches).