The powerful Hurricane Ophelia is about to hit Ireland
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NOAA
The powerful Hurricane Ophelia is due to hit Ireland on Monday in the strongest storm the country has seen in more than 50 years.
According to Irish Times, The National Emergency Co-ordination Group met on Sunday morning to discuss preparations for the storm, which is expected to track along the west coast of Ireland before moving towards Scotland.
Meanwhile, the country’s national meteorological service Met Éireann has issued a red weather alert, its highest level warning. The warning is in place for counties Galway, Mayo, Clare, Cork and Kerry from 9 a.m. on Monday until 3 a.m. on Tuesday.
The storm is currently south-west of the Azores islands near Portugal, 2,500 km away from Ireland, according to The Independent.
The UK Met Office reported that Cornwall, Devon, and Dorset can expect some disruption, although the storm will have lost most of its power before landing in the British Isles.
The graphics below show the times the storm is expected at different points across the UK and Ireland.
NOAA
NOAA
The Met Office tweeted that Ophelia is "expected to become an ‘extratropical’ cyclone in the next 24 hours."
Met Éireann forecaster Joanna Donnelly said Hurricane Ophelia is the most powerful hurricane this far east of the US on record, according to Irish Times.
A Met Éireann spokesperson told The Independent the storm could cause as much damage as the 1961 Hurricane Debbie, which killed 16 people in the Republic of Ireland and two people in Northern Ireland.
"The tail end of hurricanes often affect Britain and Ireland, but usually, by the time they reach us they will have lost most of their power," the spokesperson said. "We’ve had a very active hurricane season, but the remains of Hurricanes Maria and José passed us by harmlessly, as is usually the case.
"But Ophelia is unusual because hurricanes would usually come from America or the Caribbean, whereas this one is coming from the southwest, below the Azores. It’s worth noting that Hurricane Debbie also came from this unusual direction and source region."
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See Also:
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