BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Several countries have been placed on alert as Hurricane Kirk, a large and powerful hurricane, is churning way across the Caribbean on Friday.
The Miami-based National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said that Kirk, which is 1010 miles east northeast of the Northern Leeward Islands, has maximum sustained winds of 145 miles per hour (mph).
While there are no coastal watches or warnings in effect, the NHC said that the eye of Hurricane Kirk is moving towards the northwest near 10 mph and this general motion is expected to continue Friday.
“A turn toward the north and north-northeast at a faster forward speed is anticipated over the weekend,” it said adding that Kirk is a category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.
“Small intensity fluctuations are possible today. Weakening is forecast to begin on Saturday and continue through early next week,” it said.
Additionally, surf swells generated by Kirk are spreading westward and are expected to reach the Leeward Islands later today, Bermuda and the Greater Antilles on Saturday, the east coast of the United States, Atlantic Canada, and the Bahamas on Sunday.
“These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions,” NHC added.
The weather forecasters are also monitoring the passage of Tropical Storm Leslie, with maximum sustained winds of 60 mph and located 645 miles west-southwest of the southernmost Cabo Verde Islands.