Tropical Storm Kirk is expected to weaken over the weekend into a trough of low pressure. Image courtesy NOAA

Sept. 28 (UPI) -- Tropical Storm Kirk weakened Friday as it pushed westward into the Caribbean on Friday with strong winds and heavy rains hammering Barbados and the Lesser Antilles, the National Hurricane Center said.

The center of the storm was located about 245 miles west of Martinique and 270 miles south-southeast of San Juan, Puerto Rico, the NHC said in its 5 p.m. EDT update. Kirk was moving west-northwest at 14 mph and had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph.


Forecasters said Kirk could dump up to 10 inches of rain on Martinique and Dominica. St. Croix and eastern Puerto Rico could see 4 inches to 6 inches Friday and Saturday.

The NHC expects Kirk to weaken to a tropical depression early Saturday and slow to a trough of low pressure later in the day.

All tropical storm watches and warnings were canceled.

Kirk became a named storm a week ago and formed the farthest south of any major storm since 2012.

Another named storm, Leslie, was downgraded to a post tropical storm earlier this week. The NHC said it continues to churn in the central Atlantic and could become a subtropical storm Friday or Saturday.