Hurricane Lee is charting a new course in weather and could signal more monster storms

By JEFF MARTIN
Associated Press

ATLANTA (AP) — Experts say that Hurricane Lee is rewriting old rules of meteorology. It left meteorologists astonished at how rapidly it grew into a goliath Category 5 hurricane. Experts say Lee, which just as quickly dropped to a still-dangerous Category 3 and held that strength Saturday, could also be a harbinger as ocean temperatures climb. The warming ocean waters act as jet fuel to spawn fast-growing major hurricanes. Experts say that could lead to more monster storms and threaten communities farther north and inland. That could bring new woes to places such as Washington, D.C., New York and Boston.