HOUSTON — As we ring in October, the tropics remain active in the Atlantic Basin with an area of concern over the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico, Hurricane Kirk in the mid-Atlantic, and now Tropical Depression Thirteen off the coast of Africa.
Here is a breakdown of all the systems we are watching:
Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico
The National Hurricane Center has highlighted an area of concern encompassing the entire Gulf of Mexico. As of Wednesday morning, this area has a 40% chance of development within the next seven days.
The disturbance in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico is a broad area of disorganized showers and storms. There is not an organized low currently, so there is still uncertainty on development, if any, storm intensity and location of land impacts. It is something to watch in the coming days for all folks along the Gulf of Mexico.
Atlantic Ocean
Hurricane Kirk is a Category 1 storm churning in the central Atlantic with winds at 85 mph. The hurricane is moving northwest at 12 mph.
Conditions in the Atlantic are favorable for Kirk to develop into a major hurricane. The storm is forecasted to reach Category 4 intensity by Friday evening. As the storm travels north and comes into contact with cooler water, Kirk will weaken into a Category 3 hurricane by Sunday morning.
This storm will remain over open water and not impact the U.S or Southeast Texas.
Just to the east of Hurricane Kirk, the National Hurricane Center has now designated an area of storms as Tropical Depression Thirteen as of Wednesday morning.
This system is forecasted to strengthen into a hurricane by Saturday morning. It is likely this storm will remain over open water and not pose a threat to the U.S. As this system develops, there is a high chance that it will take on the name Leslie in the coming days.
As a reminder, hurricane season lasts until November 31. Monitor updated forecasts on the tropics on khou.com and on the KHOU 11 app.
