TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — The National Hurricane Center is monitoring two named storms and two disturbances in the Atlantic as we just passed the peak of hurricane season.

Hurricane Lee

Hurricane Lee remained a Category 3 storm Monday morning and is expected to continue strengthening over the next day, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Forecasters said Lee is moving toward the northwest near 7 mph. The storm is expected to gradually turn toward the north by midweek.

On the forecast track, the NHC said Lee is expected to pass well north of the northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico during the next day or two.

Lee’s winds remain near 120 mph. The NHC said Lee will gradually weaken throughout the week.

The large hurricane is bringing swells to portions of the Lesser Antilles, the British and U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, the Turks and Caicos Islands, the Bahamas and Bermuda.

The NHC said these swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.

“Dangerous surf and rip currents have begun to affect portions of the southeastern U.S. coast, and these conditions are forecast to spread northward along much of the U.S. East Coast during the next couple of days,” the NHC said.

(WFLA)

Tropical Storm Margot

The NHC is also watching Tropical Storm Margot. Margo is expected to become a hurricane Monday night.

The storm’s maximum sustained winds are near 65 mph. It is located about 1215 miles northwest of the Cabo Verde Islands and moving at 8 mph.

Areas of interest

The NHC said it is monitoring a weak area of low pressure located several hundred miles to the west-southwest of the Cabo Verde Islands. The system is producing limited and disorganized showers and thunderstorms.

Forecasters do not believe the storm will develop because it will merge with a tropical wave in a few days. The system has a 10% chance of development over the next two days.

The NHC is also watching a tropical wave located over the far eastern tropical Atlantic between the Cabo Verde Islands and the west coast of Africa. It could develop into a tropical depression while it moves westward to west-northwestward over the central tropical Atlantic.

The tropical wave has a 50% chance of formation over the next seven days.