(WGHP) – Tropical Depression 13 has formed in the Atlantic as of the noon update from the National Hurricane Center.

Tropical Depression 13 will likely become “Lee” before the end of the day, Tuesday. It is forecast to become a major hurricane by the end of the week.

T.D. 13 is making its way west, towards the Leeward Islands with maximum sustained winds near 35 mph, according to the latest advisory from the National Hurricane Center.

The official forecast from the NHC has Lee becoming a hurricane Thursday and reaching category 2 hurricane strength by Friday.

Lee is forecast to become a category 4, major hurricane with winds of 140 mph by the weekend.

Its projected path has the center of the storm moving north of Puerto Rico and Haiti by the end of the week, however it is still too early to determine what could occur past that.

Computer models are still in disagreement about soon-to-be Lee’s future path after the storm moves north of the Leeward Islands, as well as Puerto Rico and Haiti.

However, data is trending towards a northward turn at some point mid to late next week. The question is how close does the storm get to the East Coast? Tropical Depression 13 is a system that North Carolina should keep an eye on.

The FOX8 weather team will be closely monitoring this system. Be sure to stay tuned to the FOX8 Max Weather Center for the latest tropical information.