(Reuters) - Tropical Storm Kirk is not expected to weaken until it crosses the Lesser Antilles and moves over the eastern Caribbean Sea where it will bring dangerously heavy rains, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said on Wednesday.

Kirk is located about 355 miles (570 km) east-southeast of Martinique with maximum sustained winds of 60 miles per hour (95 kph), the Miami-based weather forecaster said.

“Kirk is expected to produce total rainfall of 4 to 6 inches (10-15 cm) across the northern Windward and southern Leeward Islands with isolated maximum totals up to 10 inches across Martinique and Dominica. These rains may produce life-threatening flash floods and mudslides,” the center warned.