Hurricane Lee, now a Category 3 hurricane, has begun creating dangerous conditions on the beaches of the southeastern United States.

(CNN) — Late Sunday, Hurricane Lee began causing dangerous surf and rip currents on parts of the southeastern coast of the United States, and dangerous conditions are expected on beaches in more areas in the coming days of the East Coast as a tropical cyclone. It is moving across the Atlantic Ocean, according to meteorologists.

Lee, a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 190 km/h, was centered Sunday night in the Atlantic Ocean, about 510 km north of the Leeward Islands in the northern Caribbean Sea and heading northwest. He said The National Hurricane Center is in an advisory at 11 p.m. Miami time on Sunday.

Forecasters said the powerful tropical cyclone, which fluctuated in intensity throughout its path over the Atlantic Ocean, could become a Category 4 hurricane on Monday morning before it fluctuates again later in the week.

It is still too early to determine Lee’s long-range path later this week and the significance of the impacts it could have on the northeastern US states, Bermuda and Atlantic Canada.

But Lee was already generating severe storms that affected several of the easternmost islands of the Caribbean, as well as the British and United States Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, the Turks and Caicos Islands, the Bahamas, and Bermuda. Those storms could cause deadly waves and rip currents, the hurricane center said Sunday.

The Hurricane Center said at 11 p.m. local time, “Dangerous surf and rip currents have begun to reach parts of the southeastern coast of the United States and are expected to intensify and spread northward along most of the eastern coast of the United States during the next two days.” Advisor.

The tropical cyclone grew larger — though not stronger — Sunday night. The Hurricane Center said hurricane-force winds extended to a distance of 120 kilometers from the center at 11 p.m. Eastern time. Six hours ago, those hurricane-force winds extended approximately 72 kilometers.

By mid-week, Lee is expected to head north, likely moving between Bermuda and the East Coast of the United States later this week.

Hurricane Lee, which was a Category 1 hurricane on Thursday, intensified exceptionally fast to a Category 5 as it moved westward across the Atlantic Ocean, doubling its wind speeds to 165 mph in just one day.

The vertical strength of the winds and the cycle of eyewall replacement — a process that occurs in most large, long-lasting hurricanes — caused the storm to weaken, according to the Hurricane Center.

CNN’s Mary Gilbert and Dave Hennen contributed to this report.