BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, Aug 31, CMC – Residents in the Leeward Islands were following the progress of Tropical Storm Leslie that the Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC) said is strengthening and could become a hurricane later on Friday.
The storm was located 940 miles of the Leeward Islands that includes Antigua and Barbuda, St. Kitts-Nevis, Anguilla and Montserrat and packing winds of 65 miles per hour (mph).
NHC said that the winds are expected to strengthen during the next 24 hours and that “Leslie could become a hurricane later today or tonight”.
It said that the center of the storm was located near latitude 15.2 north, longitude 47.8 west and “this general motion with a slight decrease in forward speed is expected during the next couple of days”.
NHC said that Leslie is expected to stay northeast of the Leeward Islands as it moves slowly across the region.
Meanwhile, a Category Two hurricane is located 835 miles east of Bermuda.
The NHC said that Hurricane Kirk is moving towards the north-northwest at 12 mph and that a turn to the north and then northeast is expected as it strengthens on Friday before moving out into the open waters of the North Atlantic over the next two days.
Kirk has maximum sustained winds of 105 miles mph with hurricane force winds extended 15 miles from the center.
