Hurricane Lee: The latest maps, models and paths

Lee is one impressive hurricane to say the least. In the last 24 hours, it went from an 80 mph category 1 hurricane to now a category 5 hurricane with 160 mph winds. It is expected to strengthen even more to 180 mph winds by tomorrow morning, coming close to the Atlantic hurricane record of 190 mph winds, which is still held by Hurricane Allen (1980). Hurricane Dorian (2019) had 185 mph max winds, as did Hurricane Wilma (2005). However, Hurricane Wilma remains the strongest hurricane on record due to its record low pressure of 882 mb. Is this storm a record for rapid intensification? No, but it comes pretty close! That record is also held by Hurricane Wilma, which strengthened from a tropical storm to a category 5 hurricane in a 24 hour period.