Hurricane Katia winds set to strike Ireland a glancing blow

Rare extreme weather alert has now been issued

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A rare extreme weather alert has been issued for Ireland in anticipation of Hurrican Katia.

Britain's Met Office issued the alert for the Category 1 storm and warned of 130kmh winds on Monday that could cause sea flooding and "phenomenal" ocean conditions that could be a danger to ships.

Met Eireann, predicting winds of up to 100 miles and hour , was considering issuing a severe weather warning after putting out an advisory on Friday, reports the Irish Independent.

Said iWeather Online Senior Forecaster Peter O’Donnell: “If you live in Clare, Galway, Mayo, Sligo, Donegal, Derry, north Antrim or nearby parts of other counties, and not in some deep valley with hills off to your southwest, you should expect storm or hurricane force wind gusts between six am and 3pm on Monday.

"If you live in a region including most of Ulster, Leinster north and west of Dublin, or west Munster, you should be on alert for gusts between gale and storm force in a slightly later time frame. If you live in the southeast, you may be off the hook for now."

Katia is carrying 145kmh winds across a 160km-wide center and tropical storm force winds across an 800km-wide area.

"The remains of Hurricane Katia are expected to arrive on Monday, bringing very windy weather," said the Met Office's alert for Ireland.

"The public should be aware of the risk of disruption to transport and of the possibility of damage to trees and structures.

"There remains uncertainty about its track, and warning areas may be extended or upgraded to amber, but the best estimate is that northern and western parts are most at risk from very strong winds."

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