Hurricane Kirk not direct threat, but the storm’s swells may impact Hilton Head beaches
While Hurricane Kirk — a Category 3 storm that was looming in the central Tropical Atlantic on Thursday — was not a threat to land, forecasters said it would send out powerful ocean swells that could reach the East Coast on Sunday, according to the National Hurricane Center.
For Beaufort County, swells generated from Kirk were likely to cause a moderate risk of rip currents Friday and a possible enhanced risk over the weekend.
Rip currents are forceful currents of water flowing away from shore at surf beaches and typically extend from near the shoreline, through the surf zone and past the line of breaking waves, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said. When under certain conditions, the currents reach dangerous speeds and pose a threat to swimmers if they’re pulled offshore and unable to keep themselves afloat.
On Thursday morning, Kirk was 1,185 miles east of the northern Leeward Islands, moving at 10 mph and packing 120 mph sustained winds, the center said. Forecasters predicted the storm would grow in size and potentially strengthen into a Category 4 hurricane.
National Weather Service Meteorologist Douglas Berry said over the next seven days the service would continue to monitor a storm system the NHC identified in the Gulf of Mexico that had a 30% chance of cyclone formation within a week.
On Thursday morning, the storm system was an area of disorganized showers and thunderstorms over portions of the Gulf of Mexico that were associated with a surface trough — a long, low-pressure area in the atmosphere that can lead to clouds and precipitation. The center said “tropical or subtropical development could be limited” due to environmental conditions.
Berry said it was “too far out and very uncertain” to predict whether the system would bring rain to the Lowcountry.
This story was originally published October 3, 2024 at 12:20 PM.
