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A fishing boat battles against the elements as Hurricane Lorenzo rages (Picture: AP)
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The weather system which produced the strongest hurricane
ever recorded in the far east Atlantic is heading towards the UK.
The Irish forecaster Met Eireann has warned of ‘ferocious’
and ‘very dangerous’ storm and wave surges as it hits the British Isles
tomorrow and Friday.
Hurricane Lorenzo is currently south west of The Azores,
where it is expected to pass with 105mph winds throughout today.
The Met Office said there has been some uncertainty of over
its path, but it now looks like it will follow a north-easterly track towards
the UK and Ireland.
By the time it gets here it will no longer be a hurricane,
but will still mean another wet and windy battering for the west of the
country.
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Waves batter the Azores as strong winds from Hurricane Lorenzo batter the islands (Picture: Reuters)
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Chief
meteorologist at the Met Office Dan Suri said: ‘There has been considerable
uncertainty over the potential track of Lorenzo after it passes The Azores.
‘However, we
are now increasingly confident the remnants of Lorenzo will move towards the
UK, bringing a spell of wet and very windy weather to western parts on Thursday
and Friday.’
Mr Suri said
the strongest winds are expected in western Ireland, with a risk of coastal
gales developing in Northern Ireland and western Scotland on Thursday and Wales
and south-west England on Friday.
He said
‘Ex-Lorenzo’ will also bring spells of heavy rain to north-western parts of the
UK through Thursday and Friday, particularly in Northern Ireland, western
Scotland, central England and Wales.
Mr Suri
said: ‘Our advice is to pay close attention to the weather forecast over the
next couple of days and to keep an eye out for any weather warnings that may be
issued in your area.’
Deputy chief
meteorologist Tony Wardle said: ‘The remnants of ex-Hurricane Lorenzo will
gradually pull away from the UK later on Friday, though it’ll remain unsettled
with further spells of wet and windy weather as we head into the weekend.’
The arrival
of Ex-Lorenzo will mean more rainfall after days of deluge, although the Met
Office said Wednesday will be an oasis of good weather between the storms.
Dr Mohammad
Heidarzadeh, Head of Coastal Engineering and Resilience at Brunel University
London, said Lorenzo was around 3,500km (2,175 miles) from the UK and moving
north at about 20mph.
He explained
that although the Category 2 hurricane’s track was ‘not 100% certain’ it would
likely arrive in the west of the UK and Ireland at around noon on Friday.
He added:
‘We expect that Lorenzo will lose more strength and become a Category 1 or
lower when it makes landfall in Ireland and the UK.
‘Still,
Lorenzo will have enough strength to cause heavy rainfall and flooding. ‘It is
essential that coastal residents take utmost care.
Past
experience of hurricane damage and death in other parts of the world shows that
most hurricane damage is due to wind-blown debris and landslides in addition to
severe flash flooding.
‘Heavy
rainfall can destabilise the soil and cause landslides.’
The Irish
Government’s emergency task force met on Tuesday to discuss contingency
measures for the approaching storm.
Lorenzo is
currently a large and powerful hurricane and its hurricane and tropical
storm-force winds are expected to expand further during the next few days.
Although
Lorenzo is currently a hurricane, it will be a storm when it hits Ireland on
Thursday.
Housing
Minister Eoghan Murphy, who convened a meeting of the National Emergency
Co-ordination Group, told RTE news the severity of the storm once it hits
Ireland is ‘still to be determined’.
Mr Murphy
said coastal areas are due to be worst affected as ‘very significant storm wave
surges’ are expected which could be ‘quite ferocious’ and ‘very dangerous’.
He said the
storm could also bring high winds and potentially cause flooding in some areas.
‘People will
recall we’ve had strong wind events before, Storm Ally, Storm Ophelia, and how
dangerous it was in terms of trees, heavy with leaves, falling, bringing down
power lines, causing flooding in certain areas,’ he said.
Mr Murphy
said every local authority has been contacted to ask them to monitor Met
Eireann’s forecasts, and prepare for storm impacts by activating crisis
management and local co-ordination arrangements.
The public
are advised to stay away from coastal areas during this period as there will be
high seas.
Very strong
winds are predicted which will make driving conditions hazardous, especially
for the more vulnerable road users such as cyclists, pedestrians, motorcyclists
and high-sided vehicles.
Road users
have been warned to pay particular attention to the risk posed by fallen trees
and flying debris as trees are in full leaf.
In Dublin,
the public have been urged to use an online link to alert authorities to those
sleeping rough during stormy weather.
The
Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection is on standby with its
community welfare officers ready to assist with damage and recovery due to the
impacts of the storm.
Mr Murphy
said more detailed public safety messaging will be issued on Wednesday morning when
the group reconvenes and throughout Wednesday and Thursday.
Source: Metro.co.uk
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