(This story was updated to add new information and to add a video.)
Hurricane Kirk is a major hurricane in the central Atlantic and is growing stronger.
Kirk has maximum sustained winds of 130 mph, making it a Category 4 storm, and additional strengthening is expected, according to the latest advisory from the National Hurricane Center.
While Hurricane Kirk is expected to remain over the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean, impacts could be felt as far as the East Coast of the United States by Sunday.
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Elsewhere in the Atlantic basin, Tropical Storm Leslie west of Africa is expected to become a hurricane and a system approaching the Gulf of Mexico is forecast to bring heavy rain and flooding to Florida, even if it doesn't develop into a tropical storm or hurricane.
Where is Hurricane Kirk going?
- Location : 1,085 miles east-northeast of the Northern Leeward Islands; 1,655 southwest of the Azores
- Maximum sustained winds : 130 mph
- Movement : northwest at 12 mph
At 5 p.m., the center of Hurricane Kirk was located near latitude 21.1 North, longitude 46.7 West.
Kirk is moving toward the northwest near 12 mph, and this general motion is expected to continue through early Friday.
A turn toward the north and north-northeast at a faster forward speed is forecast over the weekend.
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Maximum sustained winds have increased to near 130 mph with higher gusts.
Kirk is a category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Some additional strengthening is forecast the next day or so.
Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 35 miles from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 185 miles.
Hurricane Kirk spaghetti models
Special note about spaghetti models: Spaghetti model illustrations include an array of forecast tools and models, and not all are created equal. The Hurricane Center uses only the top four or five highest performing models to help make its forecasts.
What impacts can Florida, US expect from Hurricane Kirk?
Kirk is expected to grow in size and send out ocean swells across the central and western Atlantic, the National Hurricane Center said.
"These swells will likely increase the risk of dangerous surf and rip currents along the Leeward Islands by Friday, Bermuda and the Greater Antilles by Saturday, and the U.S. East Coast and the Bahamas by Sunday."
Kirk represents a major threat to shipping interests, AccuWeather said, adding the hurricane "is likely to be a long-lived feature that may bring the impacts of a tropical wind and rainstorm to the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and western Europe in general by the middle of next week."
Where is Tropical Storm Leslie going?
- Location : 580 miles west-southwest of the southernmost Cabo Verde Islands
- Maximum sustained winds : 50 mph
- Movement : west at 6 mph
At 5 p.m. EDT, the center of Tropical Storm Leslie was located near latitude 10.1 North, longitude 31.5 West.
Leslie is moving toward the west near 6 mph.
A slow westward motion is expected through tonight, followed by a slightly faster west-northwestward motion Friday through Saturday.
Maximum sustained winds have increased to near 50 mph with higher gusts. Steady strengthening is forecast during the next 48 hours, and Leslie is forecast to become a hurricane on Friday.
Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 45 miles from the center.
Tropical Storm Leslie spaghetti models
Special note about spaghetti models: Spaghetti model illustrations include an array of forecast tools and models, and not all are created equal. The Hurricane Center uses only the top four or five highest performing models to help make its forecasts.
What impacts can Florida, US expect from Tropical Storm Leslie?
Leslie is forecast to take a path farther to the west than Kirk but should avoid the Caribbean Islands, according to AccuWeather. Like Kirk, it will be a significant concern for trans-Atlantic shipping but no impacts to land are forecast at this time.
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This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Hurricane Kirk strengthens to Category 4 storm. Will Florida feel any impacts?
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