Tropical Storm Kirk speeds up

Tropical Storm Kirk is expected to boldly go where many storms have gone before: toward the Caribbean.

However, Kirk’s long-term prognosis is uncertain because of the storm-thwarting wind shear expected up ahead in its path, the National Hurricane noted in its most recent public advisory.

Kirk formed Saturday morning off the African coast and was trucking west at a relatively fast clip of 23 mph along the Atlantic toward the Caribbean on Sunday — a life cycle that so far resembles many of the storms that take shape at this time of the year.

Its strongest winds were measuring about 40 mph with higher gusts, making Kirk a bare-minimum tropical storm. (Tropical storms are cyclones characterized by peak winds of 39 mph to 73 mph.)

The question for South Florida is will Kirk survive long enough to remain intact in the Caribbean? And if so, could Kirk make the dreaded turn north toward the United States?

At this point, odds are not looking in favor of that happening, forecasters are noting.

Here’s what Kirk, whose cloud pattern resembles a ‘9’ in satellite imagery, is expected to do, as of Sunday:

“Some strengthening is forecast during the next day or two,” the forecast advisory noted. “Weakening is likely during the middle to latter part of the week.”

Its westward movement was expected to continue through tonight with a potential arrival in the islands of the eastern Caribbean by late Wednesday or early Thursday.