MET Éireann is “closely monitoring” the path of category five Hurricane Lorenzo, warning that there is a “lot of uncertainty” for the week ahead.

Lorenzo strengthened into a category five storm on Saturday night, making it the strongest storm ever observed so far north and east in the Atlantic, according to the US National Hurricane Centre.

The hurricane is currently approaching the Azores Islands and the tail end will possibly hit parts of Ireland next week.

Forecasters believe it may hit parts of Munster by Thursday evening.

“There is a lot of uncertainty ahead as Hurricane Lorenzo is keeping us on our toes for the next few days,” a Met Éireann forecaster said.

“There is potential for unsettled weather to develop during this period, however, uncertainties in the detail remain due to the track of Lorenzo for this timeframe. It is likely to become milder due to the influence of tropical origin air.”

Lorenzo is expected to transition into an extratropical cyclone as it approaches the British Isles, but Met Éireann said it is keeping an eye on its path.

The US National Hurricane Centre said that the storm has maximum sustained winds of 160mph.

There are no coastal watches or warnings currently in effect, although forecasters expect the storm to remain strong as it approaches the Azores over the next few days.

Officials say swells produced by the storm are currently affecting parts of the northeastern coast of South America and the Lesser Antilles.

Meanwhile, the rest of the week looks set to be unsettled, with some grass frost possible on Tuesday night.

Sunday will be sunnier after some rain and drizzle in the morning, with temperatures reaching as high as 17 degrees and some moderate northwest winds.

However, “persistent and heavy” rain will sweep across the country on Monday.

“There’s unsettled weather coming in from the Atlantic and there’ll be another episode of wet weather on Monday and Monday night,” the Met Éireann spokesperson said. Temperatures will remain between 13 and 17 degrees.

Some areas are also at risk of spot flooding on Monday night.

After Monday, it will be bright with some showers, with highest temperatures of 17 degrees on Tuesday and 14 degrees on Wednesday.

However, there’s no improvement on the horizon with Met Éireann forecasting “more wet and windy weather for the second half of the week”.

Keep the umbrellas at hand as the current unsettled weather across the country is set to continue over the weekend and into next week, with a risk of spot flooding tonight.

“There will be unsettled weather this weekend, with a rainfall warning in place for the south and south west tonight but it will clear in the morning,” a forecaster from Met Éireann told Independent.ie.

There will be a mix of cloudy and sunny spells with the showers, with temperatures reaching between 14 and 16 degrees. Tonight the rain will spread northwards into Connacht and Ulster.

“There’s a risk of spot flooding in some areas from the rain tonight and it might happen again on Monday but it will clear,” said the forecaster.

Source: Read Full Article