Hurricane Ophelia: Ireland braces for worst Atlantic storm in almost 60 years

Ireland is bracing itself for what could be the worst storm since 1961, according to Met Éireann, the country’s national meteorological service.

An aerial photograph of Hurricane Ophelia taken on 11 October.

Hurricane Ophelia, which is currently south-west of the Azores islands near Portugal, 2,500km away from Ireland, is expected to hit the country’s west coast on Monday.

By this time, it will have lost its hurricane status but will still be a powerful storm.  Areas including Cork, Kerry, Clare and Galway & Mayo are set to see wind speeds in excess of 130kmh (80mph).

The Irish meteorological service has issued its highest possible "status red" warning ahead of the arrival of Ophelia.

Read the Inkl story by Niamh McIntyre - "Hurricane Ophelia: Ireland braces for worst Atlantic storm in almost 60 years.”

Storm Doris set to bring winter's worst weather to UK as warnings extended.

The worst storm of the winter is set to batter Britain on Thursday, with the Met Office warning that Storm Doris will bring gale-force winds and snow to more areas than previously feared.

Thursday (‘Doris Day’) is likely to bring travel
problems and widespread damage.

An amber “be prepared” weather warning has been extended further south to include Birmingham and the northern edges of the home counties where winds of up to 80mph are forecast.

More snow than initially expected is also predicted for Scotland and northern England. A new amber warning for heavy snow has also been issued for southern Scotland and the Cheviot Hills in Northumberland, where up to 30cm of snow is forecast.

A yellow “be aware” warning of high winds has also been extended to include almost all of England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Read The Guardian story - “Storm Doris set to bring winter's worst weather to UK as warnings extended.”