Category 1 Tropical Hurricane Shaped Like A Cucumber Is Set To Hit The UK Over Next Few Days
A tropical hurricane building in the Atlantic is heading for the UK and will bring gales, rain and surprising highs of 23C over the weekend.
Storm Ophelia was last night upgraded to a category one hurricane, and its effects are expected to batter Britain over the next few days.
The 10th hurricane of the 2017 Atlantic season is currently about 760 miles southwest of the Azores and producing 75mph winds moving eastwards.
The storm – due to gain strength over the next 48 hours – comes just a few days after the anniversary of the 1987 Great Storm – which originated from a similar weather system 30 years ago.
It will not be at hurricane status when it reaches the UK, as our waters are not warm enough to sustain it at that strength, but it could still pack a punch as a storm.
Predicted to hit the UK on Sunday, the west coast of Ireland and Scotland are expected to suffer most with strong winds.
In contrast the east of England could see much nicer weather, with temperatures rocketing up with weather system surging in from the tropics.
The Met Office predicts some parts of the eastern areas could see highs of 23C on Sunday, with the possibility of even warmer temperatures on Monday.
A spokesman said: “When the storm arrives it will still maintain some of that energy [from Hurricane Ophelia] but it means it will be downgraded so it won’t be a hurricane by the time it reaches the UK.
“At the moment it looks like it’s going to track along the side of the west coast of Ireland and just brushes the edge of Scotland.
“However there will be some pretty strong winds but not huge amounts of rain.
“We are going to see some pretty strong conditions, certainly some gales across the west.
“The only place that escapes the strong weather is the east.
“We are going to import some of that heat, we could still see 22/23C on Sunday – it may creep up on Monday.”
There are currently no weather warnings in place but the spokesman said they would be keeping an eye on the developments of the storm over the next few days.
Today it will be cloudy and rainy for much of the UK, but the east should see clearer spells.
From tomorrow heavy rain will affect southwest Scotland and northwest England, with some gales around Irish Sea coasts.
In other areas it will be brighter, with the south feeling warmer.
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