Hurricane Kirk in the open Atlantic Ocean is forecast to strengthen and become a major system.
The tropical depression became a tropical storm on Monday and developed into a Category 1 Hurricane on Tuesday afternoon, according to the National Hurricane Center.
As of 5pm on Tuesday, Hurricane Kirk had sustained winds of 90mph and was moving northwest at 12mph from about 1,330 miles northwest of Cabo Verde Islands.
It has the potential to become the third major hurricane of this season, said WPBF 25 Certified First Warning meteorologist Brooke Silverang.
All current models have Kirk remaining in the open Atlantic and not barreling toward the US. They show the system moving north and into the middle of the Atlantic.
There are no active hurricane watches or warnings that have been issued on land.
Kirk’s swells could create life-threatening rip current conditions affecting Bermuda and the Leeward Islands this weekend.
While Kirk is not projected to strike the US, the hurricane center is tracking two other systems in the Atlantic basin, including one that appears to pose a threat to Florida or the Gulf Coast as soon as this weekend.
A tropical disturbance that is expected to enter the Gulf of Mexico could form into a tropical depression this weekend. Storm watchers have already advised Gulf Coast residents to keep an eye on the system, which is poised to bring heavy rain to parts of the Florida Peninsula.
In the Atlantic basin along with Hurricane Kirk is Tropical Depression 13, which could grow into a tropical storm by Wednesday night and become a hurricane this weekend.
Kirk became the third system to become a hurricane since September 25, after Isaac and Helene, which killed at least 154 people late last week. The death toll so far includes 42 people in North Carolina, 39 people in South Carolina, 25 people in Georgia, 19 people in Florida, eight people in Tennessee and two people in Virginia.
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