Miami, Fla. (970 WFLA)-At 500 AM EDT, the center of Tropical Storm Kirk was located near latitude 13.5 north, longitude 58.3 west, or about 85 miles east-northeast of Barbados, about 200 miles east-southeast of Martinique.
Kirk is moving toward the west-northwest near 16 mph, and this general motion with a slight decrease in forward speed is expected over the next few days. On the forecast track, the center of Kirk will move across the Lesser Antilles within the tropical storm warning area by this evening.
Maximum sustained winds remain near 50 mph with higher gusts. Gradual weakening is anticipated during the next couple of days, but Kirk is forecast to move across the Lesser Antilles and into the eastern Caribbean Sea as a tropical storm.
Another Air Force reconnaissance aircraft is scheduled to investigate Kirk later this morning.
Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 140 miles, mostly north and east of the center.
Graphic credit: NHC Miami