The remnants of Hurricane Kirk will hit Europe later this week

The remnants of Hurricane Kirk are expected to hit northwestern France on Wednesday, bringing heavy rain and strong winds.

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

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

When #Church it will no longer be a hurricane by the time it reaches Europe, 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 gust forecast plus the latest forecast track from the NHC: pic.twitter.com/G5fuAVBtfZ
— Zoom Earth (@zoom_earth) October 5, 2024

So far, 13 storms have formed over the Atlantic Ocean in the six-month hurricane season and four hurricanes have hit the US, including Helene and Beryl in July, which knocked out power in Houston, the US’s fourth most populous 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.

Heavy rain in France is likely to disrupt the corn harvest and wheat planting, which are already behind the usual pace for this time of year. This would add to French crop woes due to extreme weather, with the soft wheat crop seen falling to its lowest level in decades. Last month was the wettest September in 25 years, according to Météo-France.

The UK Met Office is also looking at potential weather warnings later in the week as Storm Kirk approaches.

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

Zugbahn von Hurrikan KIRK (naut der National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). In der Nacht zum Donnerstag (12 AM Thursday=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

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