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The tail end of Hurricane Ophelia is set to barrel into the UK, lashing it with rain and winds of up to 70mph, forecasters have warned.
The tropical storm was upgraded to hurricane overnight and the remnants of it could reach the UK over the weekend or early next week.
Although Ophelia will not be strong enough to be categorised as a hurricane by the time it reaches Britain, the west of the country can expect gale-force winds.
Its arrival coincides with the 30th anniversary of the Great Storm of 1987, which hit southern England overnight on 15 October.
Forecaster Michael Fish famously told viewers not to worry about the storm, which killed 18 people and caused £1bn worth of damage.
Hurricane Ophelia is unlikely to cause as much damage as the Great Storm of 1987, which is often referred to as “Hurricane Fish”, but there is the possibility of disruptive weather.
Met Office forecaster Alex Burkhill said: “Ophelia became a hurricane overnight and the forecast track takes it eastwards towards Iberia for the weekend.
“After that, indications are that by that point it will then have weakened and be no longer a hurricane or tropical storm, it will be extratropical. But then it will continue its way towards the British Isles, probably reaching us very early next week.”
He added: “It’s definitely something that we are keeping an eye on, for the possibility of some disruptive weather early next week.”
Agencies contributed to this report
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