Hurricane Lee strengthens into major category 5 storm

RALEIGH, N.C. (BNN)-- Hurricane Lee is now a classification 5 storm.
At 11 p.m., the National Hurricane Center said the storm'& #x 27; s optimal sustained winds were up to 160 mph with gusts of 195 miles per hour.
Lee is moving west-northwest at 15 miles per hour and that is anticipated to continue through Friday. The significant cyclone had to do with 870 miles east of the northern Leeward Islands.
It was a classification 2 storm at 11 a.m. and intensified rapidly. Forecasters cautioned it might end up being the very first Category 5 storm of the Atlantic season.
"" The environment around the cyclone looks perfect for rapid accumulation,"" the National Hurricane Center in Miami stated.
Lee was not expected to make landfall while on a projected course that will take it near the northeast Caribbean, although forecasters said hurricane conditions are possible on some islands.
Hurricane-force winds are being felt up to 25 miles from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend external approximately 90 miles.
Deadly browse was anticipated to hit the Lesser Antilles on Friday and reach the British and U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, the Bahamas and Bermuda this weekend, the center said.
"" We will see waves between 10 and 15 feet, so we put on'& #x 27; t desire anybody on the beaches,"" stated Ernesto Morales with the National Weather Service in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
While Lee is currently tracking toward the southern U.S. East Coast, long-lasting forecast models still show the storm making a northern turn thanks in part to a front coming off the east coast of the United States. If the storm poses a hazard to North Carolina, the BNN First Alert Weather Team continues to keep track of all the information and will notify you.
Lee is the 12th named storm of the Atlantic typhoon season, which ranges from June 1 to Nov. 30 and peaks in September.
The Associated Press contributed.