Hurricane Kirk is making its way across the Atlantic. The weather event strengthened into a Category 4 hurricane on Thursday.
Per an advisory issued by the National Hurricane Center (NHC) on Friday morning at 4 a.m. EST, “Kirk remains a large and powerful major hurricane. Large swells from Kirk could reach the U.S. East Coast by Sunday.”
However, despite caution being advised, Kirk is forecast to weaken over the weekend, starting on Saturday, and through early next week.
Unusually large waves generated by the storm—referred to as “swells”—are expected to reach the Leeward Islands later on Friday, Bermuda and the Greater Antilles on Saturday, and the Bahamas, Atlantic Canada, and East Coast of the U.S. on Sunday.
“These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions,” the NHC advised.
There are currently no coastal watches or warnings in effect.
Kirk is traveling in a northwest direction at approximately 10 m.p.h. and has maximum sustained winds of near 145 m.p.h. It is expected to continue in this general direction until the weekend, when it is set to make a faster turn toward the north and north-northeast.
Kirk comes in the middle of a difficult hurricane season. Last week, Hurricane Helene caused devastation across the southeastern U.S. Per NBC News, as of Friday morning, at least 215 people had been confirmed dead across six states. Meanwhile, searches are ongoing for people who are missing as a result of Hurricane Helene. Flash floods swamped urban areas across the state of Florida and numerous landslides plagued the Appalachian region as a result of the storm. The winds toppled trees and destroyed homes.