As communities across the southern U.S. work to repair the damage caused by Hurricane Helene, another storm is brewing over the Atlantic Ocean: Hurricane Kirk.
On Sunday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said a new tropical depression was forming in the eastern Atlantic. At that time, NOAA said it could become “a formidable hurricane later this week.”
By Monday, the depression had become Tropical Storm Kirk as maximum sustained winds accelerated from 35 mph to 45 mph. That day, it kept strengthening over the tropical Atlantic and maximum sustained winds increased to about 60 mph.
Through Tuesday, Kirk continued to strengthen and its maximum sustained winds increased to 70 mph. At around 5 p.m. ET, the storm became Hurricane Kirk with maximum sustained winds at 75 mph.
Although it is already a hurricane, no coastal warnings related to Kirk were issued as of that time and the National Hurricane Center did not report any hazards affecting land. It was moving toward the northwest near 12 mph and was expected to have a general west-northwestward to northwest motion for the next several days.
As it moves, the storm is expected to keep growing until it becomes a major hurricane by Thursday. Another advisory on the storm is expected at 11 p.m. EST.
“Although the only named storm out there is distant (and strengthening) Tropical Storm Kirk, the National Hurricane Center is also monitoring two other tropical disturbances, including one in the Caribbean Sea,” USA Today reported earlier Tuesday. “And it’s that developing system that most concerns folks in the U.S., as it could become a named storm in the Gulf of Mexico by next week, forecasters said.”
USA Today said forecast models show the system is set to curve north into the middle of the Atlantic, away from the U.S.