The tail-end of a fierce Atlantic hurricane is expected to hit the UK and Ireland early next week. A danger to life wind warning has been issued for parts of the country as gusts of up to 80mph are expected when Hurricane Helene strikes.
Helene began off Cape Verde but has been downgraded to a tropical storm as it makes its way east.
The storm could bring gale force winds, sending debris flying, disrupting travel and cutting power to thousands of homes and businesses.
The Met Office said: Storm Helene is expected to push north-east towards the UK late Monday, before clearing quickly to the north of Scotland through Tuesday morning.
There remains large uncertainty in Helene’s exact track, however a spell of very strong winds is expected, initially for parts of south-west England and west Wales, then later south-west Scotland and the south-east of Northern Ireland.
Winds are likely to gust to 55-65 mph quite widely in the warning area, with possible gusts of 70-80 mph in exposure.
It said the dangers are:
As of Friday morning, the wind warning is in effect from Monday at 6pm to Tuesday at 12pm for the following areas:
On Friday morning, Tropical Storm Helene was bearing down on the Azores Islands in the Atlantic.
The government of Portugal had issued a tropical storm warning for the archipelago.
The US National Hurricane Center said: A turn toward the northeast is expected over the weekend. On the forecast track, Helene will pass near or over the Azores late Saturday or Sunday.
Maximum sustained winds are near 65 mph (100 km/h) with higher gusts. Little change in strength is forecast during the next 48 hours.
Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 140 miles (220 km) from the centre.
The warnings were issued as Hurricane Florence wreaked havoc on the US East Coast, flooding homes with a 10ft storm surge.