Hurricane Ophelia has just been upgraded to a category 3 hurricane as it skirts the Azore islands en route to Ireland by Monday morning.
According to Bloomberg, Ophelia could become the strongest post-tropical system to rake Ireland since Hurricane Debbie in 1961, which killed 18 people and stripped almost 25 percent of the trees in some areas.
The latest developments are...
According to Weather Underground....The expected damage is set to be fairly significant if it keeps it's current path...
Expect widespread tree damage and uprooted trees, damaged roofs, power blackouts, mobile phone coverage interruptions, and flying debris.
UK weather: Met Office issues severe weather alert as Hurricane Ophelia approacheshttps://t.co/FvccI5APdq
— GeoVision (@Visiongeo) October 14, 2017
The storm is likely to hit Ireland early Monday morning but will be at it's strongest on Monday afternoon and into the evening.
A category 3 hurricane can cause devastating damage: Well-built framed homes may incur major damage or removal of roof decking and gable ends. Many trees will be snapped or uprooted, blocking numerous roads. Electricity and water will be unavailable for several days to weeks after the storm passes.
