The UAE Mission in Madrid urged citizens in Spain to exercise caution as Storm Kirk is expected to make landfall in the northwest of the country, especially the coastal areas.

The mission also stressed the need to follow the safety instructions issued by the authorities, and to contact in emergency cases on 0097180024 or 0097180044444 and to register in the Tawajudi service.

The current track and intensity of Storm Kirk is still uncertain, but recent models suggest Kirk will run into northern France, bringing heavy rain and strong damaging winds, perhaps as far south as northern Spain.

Other models suggest that Storm Kirk may develop further inland, and if that were to occur, it would likely have a significant impact on Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Germany. Therefore, it would appear that much of Europe may get more than its fair share of bad weather, with Wednesday October 9 and Thursday October 10, being the most likely days for the storm to hit, if indeed it does.

At its peak, Hurricane Kirk was a Category 4 hurricane and has been named the official 11th storm of the US hurricane season. It brought with it extremely strong winds of 145 mph and is deemed the strongest hurricane this late in the calendar year since Hurricane Iota in 2020. Moreover, it is already the third Category 4-5 Atlantic hurricane this year alongside Hurricane Beryl and Hurricane Helene.