Kirk has made a comeback as a tropical storm and is heading for the northern Windward Islands, triggering a tropical storm warning for Barbados, St Lucia, Dominica, Martinique, Guadeloupe and a tropical storm watch for St Vincent and the Grenadines.
At 8 a.m, Tropical Storm Kirk, carrying maximum sustained winds near 45 miles per hour, was located about 415 miles east of Barbados and about 535 miles east southeast of Martinique and moving towards the west at 18 miles per hour.
Steered by high pressure to the north, Kirk will arrive in the Windward Islands tomorrow, first in Barbados, then in the rest of the Windward Islands covered by warnings. It may make some modest gain in intensity before striking the Windward Islands, forecasters say.
“On the forecast track, Kirk is expected to approach Barbados and the northern Windward Islands Thursday afternoon and move into the eastern Caribbean Sea by Friday morning,” the National Hurricane Centre (NHC) in Miami said.
“Little change in strength is forecast until Kirk moves through the central Lesser Antilles Thursday afternoon and evening. Rapid weakening is expected on Friday after Kirk moves over the eastern Caribbean Sea.”
The most serious threat from Kirk is expected to be from rainfall.
Rainfall totals from four to six inches, with isolated totals up to 10 inches, are possible through Friday from Barbados and St. Lucia northward across Martinique, Dominica, and Guadeloupe.
Source: Caribbean 360
