Hurricane Katia brings gales and floods to Northern Ireland

Hurricane Katia spins over the Atlantic Ocean en route to the UK and Ireland

Northern Ireland and other parts of the UK are bracing themselves for severe gales and flooding as Hurricane Katia makes its way across the Atlantic Ocean. Winds of up to 70 miles an hour are expected to hit Northern Ireland, north Wales and northern England by Monday.

MeteoGroup UK were not prepared to make predictions about how the hurricane might affect the weather in the rest of Ireland and England.

Forecaster Michael Dukes told Sky News "It looks likely this will be a significant storm event for mid-September.



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"Strong winds of up to 70 miles an hour have been predicted, which could result in trees coming down, causing major structural damage and travel delays.

"Inevitably with the remnants of a tropical storm, there will also be a risk of flash flooding.

"The hurricane is moving slowly at the moment and current predictions show that the remnants of the storm will hit north-west Scotland by Monday."

The forecasters also warned that the western coasts of Ireland and England would be at risk from flooding.

Winds coming in from the Atlantic are expected to ease off next week.

Katia was rated as a category four hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson during its peak. This is the second hurricane, after hurricane Irene, during the 2011 season so far.