THE aftermath of a major hurricane gathering force in the Atlantic could pummel the Island with heavy rain and strong winds next week, according to Jersey Met.
Hurricane Kirk is currently hundreds of miles from the Channel Islands.
The mega-storm has already seen winds of up to 140mph, according to the US National Hurricane Center, which has named it a Category 4 hurricane that could become even stronger in the coming days.
Its path is set to swing to the north-east and could cause trouble for the Island from late Tuesday next week.
Senior forecaster Matt Winter, however, said there is a “large amount of uncertainty” when it comes to the forecast.
He explained: “The US Met Agency have predicted that this feature will turn into major hurricane in the mid-Atlantic over the course of next day or two, and we’re pretty certain that it’s going to move northwards and head towards north-west Europe.
“What happens after that is fairly uncertain. As the storm moves northwards, it starts to encounter and interact with the jet stream.
“Where and when it does that has large implications for the track it takes and where the storm ends up in five or six days’ time, how deep it is, and what weather is associated with it.”
He added that if Hurricane Kirk were to reach Jersey, it would be an ex-hurricane at that point and the UK Met Office could choose to categorise its less powerful remains as Storm Kirk.
Warnings of poor weather have also been issued for the UK.
Mr Winter continued: “There is a good chance we will see heavy rain late Tuesday to late Thursday next week and/or some strong gale-force winds, depending on what track the hurricane takes and how deep it is.”
Forecasters will be able to predict its path with more certainty at the end of the weekend, he added.
In the meantime, he told Islanders not to panic and to monitor forecasts from a “reliable Met provider” such as Jersey Met or the UK Met Office.
Hurricane Kirk has formed as south-eastern US states are still reeling from Hurricane Helene which has been confirmed as one of the deadliest storms in the country’s history.
