How will Storm Lorenzo affect the UK?
Author: Press Office
10:58 (UTC+1) on Wed 2 Oct 2019
Our partner Met Éireann named Storm Lorenzo on Wednesday morning, (the first named storm of the 2019/2020 season named after the hurricane it started as) issuing yellow and orange wind and rain warnings for the Republic of Ireland
This low-pressure system is forecast to reach storm thresholds for the Republic of Ireland, but not in the UK.
- Met Éireann’s Orange wind warning has been issued for Galway, Mayo, Clare, Cork, Kerry and Limerick. It runs from 18:00 on Thursday to 03:00 on Friday. Our partner has issued Yellow wind and rain warnings for the rest of the Republic of Ireland.
- The Met Office has issued a Yellow wind warning for parts of Northern Ireland from 15:00 to 22:00 on Thursday.
- A separate Yellow wind warning has been issued for Cornwall and most of Devon and coastal parts of south-west Wales. This warning runs from 04:00 to 16:00 on Friday.
Storm Lorenzo will contain the remnants of Hurricane Lorenzo, which has been moving north-east through the northern Atlantic passing close to the Azores. As Lorenzo continues to move north-east it will weaken quickly and the system is expected to transition from a hurricane to an ex-tropical storm during Wednesday. Storm Lorenzo, which will become a typical deep low-pressure system, will track across Ireland on Thursday bringing the strongest winds and heaviest rain to the Republic of Ireland.
Andy Page is a Chief Meteorologist with the Met Office. He said: “By the time Storm Lorenzo reaches our latitudes it will be a low-pressure system that we're accustomed to seeing at this time of year, but our partner Met Éireann is expecting impacts from the strong winds and heavy rain to affect the Republic of Ireland. Across much of the UK we’re anticipating the impacts will be minimal, but we have issued yellow wind warnings for Northern Ireland and parts of south west England and south Wales.”
Met Éireann issued a statement on Wednesday which included the comment that ‘Storm Lorenzo will continue to accelerate north-eastwards, with its centre approaching the west of Ireland during Thursday. Lorenzo will then likely make a right turn, tracking across Ireland on Thursday night whilst it begins to gradually weaken.’
Andy Page added: “At the moment the strongest winds are expected in western Ireland, with a risk of coastal gales developing in Northern Ireland on Thursday and south Wales and south-west England on Friday. Storm Lorenzo will also bring a spell of heavy rain to much of the UK mainly during Thursday night and the first half of Friday.
“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.”
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