NORFOLK, Va. — As we enter the final third of the 2024 Atlantic Hurricane Season, the tropics continue to be active, with Hurricane Kirk and Tropical Storm Leslie churning in the central Atlantic Ocean.
Hurricane Kirk
Kirk has intensified into the season's third major hurricane. Sustained winds of 125 mph and winds gusting to 155 mph, make Kirk a Category 3 hurricane. The good news is that the track keeps it well away from land and in the open Atlantic. It could be a major swell generator for Bermuda, and an increase in swells could possibly even reach the East Coast of the United States.
Kirk is expected to gain more strength over the coming days and become a category 4 hurricane, before it continues its path towards the northeast, encountering cooler waters and eventually weakening.
Tropical Storm Leslie
Tropical Depression 13 formed Wednesday morning, and Wednesday night it strengthened to Tropical Storm Leslie. It is moving to the west at 5 mph and is on the heels of Hurricane Kirk. Tropical Storm Leslie will likely become a hurricane by Saturday morning, eventually reaching category 2 status.
Like Kirk, this system poses no immediate threat to land. It may travel farther to the west, but it is expected to get picked up and turned to the north by a frontal boundary as it moves through the central Atlantic.
Elsewhere in the Tropical Atlantic
Elsewhere, a broad trough of low pressure is producing disorganized areas of showers and thunderstorms over the northwestern Caribbean Sea and the southwestern Gulf of Mexico. Environmental conditions could support some gradual development of this system, and a tropical depression could form over the weekend as the broader disturbance moves fully into the Gulf of Mexico.
Interests along the U.S. Gulf Coast should continue to monitor the progress of this system. Regardless of development, locally heavy rains could occur over portions of Mexico during the next several days and over portions of the Florida Peninsula by the weekend. The National Hurricane Center gives this system a 30% chance of development over the coming week.
Final third of the 2024 Hurricane Season
Now that we have flipped the calendar from September to October, we are officially in the final third of the Atlantic hurricane season.
We are three weeks past the peak of the season. Climatologically, the frequency of storm development drops off significantly, especially later in the month. We also typically see more active storm tracks across the United States. As those systems move offshore, the associated winds often help recurve storms forming in the main development region off to the north while they are still out over the Atlantic.
Continue to check back with 13News Now for updates on the tropics as we come into the final third of the Atlantic Hurricane Season.
