Here’s the last 24 hours of satellite imagery from Hurricane #Ophelia when it was a Category 2. Now an Ex-hurricane with destructive winds pic.twitter.com/zsNPXJDmj2
— Met Office (@metoffice) October 16, 2017
Video: Met Office video shows the approach of the storm to Ireland and UK
Parts of Britain are being warned there is a potential risk to life from the remains of a hurricane heading in from the Atlantic Ocean.
An Amber warning has been issued by the Met Office for Northern Ireland, and authorities in the Republic of Ireland have graded the threat as a red warning, and closed schools as a precaution.
Forecasters expect Ireland to be among the worst hit from early on Monday morning (October 16), and the west of England will face heavy winds – but Nottinghamshire is currently expected to avoid the most severe weather.
Where has the storm come from?
The rough weather is the remains of Hurricane Ophelia, which is heading this way from the Azores Islands in the Atlantic Ocean, around 950 miles west of Portugal. It is no longer classed as a hurricane, but is a post-tropical cyclone.
Met Office chief forecaster Steve Ramsdale said: “By the time Ophelia reaches our latitudes, she will be weakening and will be an ex-hurricane. However, Ex-Ophelia will be bringing some significant impacts to Northern Ireland and western and northern Britain on Monday and Tuesday.”
Where and when will it hit first?
The west coast of Ireland is getting the first barrage from 7am – coastal areas of Cork and Kerry will see the high winds early, before it moves across the Republic and Northern Ireland by lunchtime.
What time will we see bad weather in Notts?
Although the West Midlands has been issued with a yellow warning for wind, the East Midlands including Nottinghamshire currently have not (as of 10am Monday). However, very windy weather is expected here later as a knock-on effect from the storm – according to the Met Office we can expect some strong gusts mid-afternoon.
How rough will it get?
So far, so good according to the Met Office as far as Nottinghamshire itself is concerned. in the late afternoon, at around 5pm, we can expect a wind speed of about 23mph and gusts of up to 44mph, which is very blustery, but not expected to be enough to cause major problems. It’s also going to be unseasonably warm here – up to 21 Celsius. By comparison parts of Ireland are expected to get sustained winds of around 90mph.
What about the rest of the week?
Overnight in Nottinghamshire it will still be windy but this will die down by Tuesday morning. Still warm though, up to 15 Celsius. On Wednesday, it will get cloudy and there will be outbreaks of rain, although there will be sunny intervals later in the week on Thursday and Friday.
