Tropical Storm Kirk weakened down to a Tropical Depression last night, but the National Hurricane Center expects it to perk up back to Tropical Storm Status by tomorrow. Kirk has been racing across the Atlantic at speeds greater than 20mph; such a speed makes it difficult for the structure of a tropical cyclone to improve and for it to gain strength.
As of the 5AM update from the National Hurricane Center this morning, the center of Tropical Depression Kirk was located near latitude 9.5 North, longitude 37.4 West. The depression is moving toward the west near 24 mph, and this fast motion is expected to continue for another day or so. A decrease in forward speed is expected by Wednesday. Maximum sustained winds remain near 35 mph with higher gusts. Although slight strengthening is forecast during the next few days, it is possible that Kirk could degenerate into a trough of low pressure during the next day or two while it moves quickly across the tropical central Atlantic. The official forecast track does return Kirk to Tropical Storm status tomorrow though, and forecasts a hit on the Windward Islands as a Tropical Storm on the weekend. For now, Kirk has an estimated minimum central pressure of 1007 mb or 29.74 inches.
