Ireland is due to be hit by the remnants of Hurricane Lorenzo on Thursday, bringing strong winds, heavy rain and high seas, according to Met Éireann's most likely projection of the storm's path.
Met Éireann meteorologist Evelyn Cusack said the most likely track of the hurricane, which will weaken to an extra tropical storm approaching Ireland, would see it hitting the West , before travelling north.
However, the forecaster said the path of the hurricane is still uncertain, with some models seeing the worst of the storm missing Ireland.
Hurricane Lorenzo is the most eastern category five hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic Ocean, likely to bring stormy weather conditions to Ireland by Thursday.
Ms Cusack said the hurricane “has potential to be a strong storm,” by the time it reaches Ireland. The first expected effects of the severe weather would be high seas along the Atlantic Coast from Wednesday, she told RTÉ Six One News on Monday.
The storm could bring “some very heavy rain,” with Thursday and Friday being the “high risk periods,” Ms Cusack said.
Hurricane Lorenzo is due to lose its hurricane status some 1,000km off the southwest of Ireland’s coast. In comparison, Storm Ophelia, which battered the country in October 2017, retained its hurricane status until it was 500km away.
Met Éireann is due to take part in a conference call with the National Hurricane Centre on Tuesday morning.
Met Éireann forecaster Matthew Martin said meteorologists would have a better picture of the hurricane's path by Wednesday.
"The hurricane is still well to the south of the Azores, it's going to speed up in the next 12 to 24 hours. Once it really begins to pass the Azores, we'll see better observations and model assimilation and we're likely to see a better accuracy of the forecast," he told The Irish Times.
Cathie Shannon, general insurance director at Brokers Ireland, which represents 1,250 brokers, cautioned people about travelling in severe weather conditions, ahead of the expected storm.
“Be generous and considerate with fellow travellers, by slowing down and leaving more distance than usual between motor vehicles and being mindful of all other road users, including cyclists,” she said.
“Buildings and contents insurance usually covers damage caused by flooding, damage to cars is typically covered by comprehensive insurance policies,” she said.
The weather forecast for Tuesday is a damp, blustery and cloudy day, with patchy rain and drizzle. Brighter, clearer and mainly dry weather will gradually extend from the west and northwest during the morning.
Tuesday night will be mainly dry apart from the odd coastal shower in the north with temperatures dropping between two and six degrees.
Wednesday is due to be a dry day countrywide with mist and fog patches slowly clearing to give some bright and sunny spells.
It will be a rather cool day with highest temperatures ranging between 11 and 14 degrees. It is expected to be dry in many areas overnight but cloud increasing from the Atlantic will bring a little drizzle to western parts by the morning. Lowest temperatures will be between four and nine degrees overnight, with coolest conditions in the northeast.
