Hurricane Kirk’s Remnants Forecast to Hit Europe Later This Week

The remnants of Hurricane Kirk are forecast to hit northwest France on Wednesday, bringing heavy rain and gale-force winds.

Hurricane Kirk peaked at Category 4 storm over the Atlantic last week, but is weakening as it heads toward Europe. Still, the post-tropical cyclone will bring driving rain and wind gusts as strong as 130 kilometers (81 miles) an hour to coastal areas, according to forecaster La Chaine Meteo. Sea swells could be up to 10 meters (33 feet) in some areas, with southern parts of the UK also in its path.

“The most likely trajectory is over the Channel basin,” La Chaine Meteo said. “This scenario would result in a strong gale from the Atlantic.”

When #Kirk reaches Europe it will no longer be a hurricane, but the storm could still bring strong winds to parts of Spain, Portugal, France, Belgium, and the UK next week.
This map shows the latest ICON wind gusts forecast plus the latest forecast path from the NHC: pic.twitter.com/G5fuAVBtfZ
— Zoom Earth (@zoom_earth) October 5, 2024

So far, 13 storms have formed across the Atlantic Ocean in the six-month hurricane season and four hurricanes have hit the US, including Helene and Beryl in July that shut down power in Houston, the fourth-most populous US city.

Yellow storm warnings are already in place for much of France, as another low pressure system moves off the Atlantic on Monday and Tuesday. There are flood alerts in the Ardeche, Gard and Lozere areas of southern France.

The heavy rain across France is likely to disrupt corn harvesting and wheat planting, which are already behind the usual pace for this time of the year. That would add to the woes of French crops from extreme weather, with the soft-wheat harvest seen plunging to the lowest in decades. Last month was the wettest September in 25 years, according to Météo-France.

The UK’s Met Office is also reviewing potential weather warnings later in the week as storm Kirk approaches.

“Parts of England and Wales look to have the greatest risk of heavy rain and strong winds during Wednesday and Thursday,” said Chris Bulmer, a deputy chief meteorologist at the Met Office. “However, a more southward track of this system, which is equally plausible at this stage, would see the most disruptive conditions impact France.”

Zugbahn von Hurrikan KIRK (laut der National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). In der Nacht zum Donnerstag (12 AM Thu=02 MESZ) bzw. am Donnerstag soll KIRK von Frankreich auf uns übergreifen. Verbreitet droht eine ausgewachsene Sturmlage (genaue Zugbahn noch unsicher)./V pic.twitter.com/UY7F72OzH7
— DWD (@DWD_presse) October 7, 2024