Storm Lee, which made landfall at near-hurricane status, delivering devastating gusts and copious rains to New England and Maritime Canada, continued to weaken Sunday after officials dropped warnings and anticipated the storm to pass early this week.

The post-tropical cyclone was about 215 kilometers west of Channel-Port-Aux-Basques, Newfoundland, according to the National Hurricane Center on Sunday morning. The maximum sustained wind speed was 70 kilometers per hour, with greater gusts possible.

The National Hurricane Center warned that gradual weakening is expected over the next few days, and Lee could dissipate on Tuesday.

On Sunday morning in Maine, the sky was clear. Governor Janet Mills declared a state of emergency. Less than 5 percent of electrical users were still without power as of lunchtime on Saturday, down from 11 percent at the height of the storm. In Canada, 14 percent of Nova Scotia was without power, down from 27 percent on Saturday, and lower proportions were reported in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.

Late on Saturday, the center lifted a tropical storm warning for the Maine coast. It announced late on Sunday morning that all tropical storm advisories for Canada had been lifted.

Storm surges were predicted to lessen on Sunday after reaching up to 0.91 meters throughout coastal locations on Saturday, according to the storm center.

The storm was traveling at about kilometers per hour and was projected to move northeast, bringing the weather system across the Canadian Maritimes. The U.S. storm center predicted an extra 25 millimeters of rain for parts of eastern Maine, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

Separately, Tropical Storm Nigel was strengthening and was anticipated to become a hurricane by Monday, according to the National Hurricane Center. It did not appear to be a threat to the United States or Canada. It was located approximately 1,595 kilometers northeast of the Lesser Antilles and approximately 1,790 kilometers east-southeast of Bermuda. It had maximum sustained winds of 95 kilometers per hour and was traveling north-northwest at 20 kilometers per hour.

(With input from AP)

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