Damage expected from the largest recorded storm to make it so far east in north Atlantic
Ireland is bracing for strong winds, downed power lines and coastal flooding when Storm Lorenzo barrels in from the Atlantic before hitting Britain.
Met Éireann, the national meteorological service, issued a status orange wind warning on Wednesday for six counties on the west coast and a yellow warning nationwide for Thursday night and Friday morning.
“The main impacts will include disruptive winds, falling trees and flooding,” it said. “Storm Lorenzo will produce significant swell, high waves and sizeable storm surges. This will lead to wave overtopping, some coastal flooding and damage, especially along western and southern coasts.”
Met Éireann (@MetEireann) Status Orange - Wind warning for Galway, Mayo, Clare, Cork, Kerry and Limerick
Valid: Thursday 6 p.m. to Friday 3 a.m.https://t.co/ozrQHtoOkt pic.twitter.com/j2jnYIz085
Lorenzo is the largest recorded storm to have made it so far east in the north Atlantic.
Authorities on Portugal’s Azores islands closed roads, schools and non-emergency public services on Wednesday morning in preparation for winds of up to 100mph (161km/h) and waves of up to 25 metres (82ft).
“The situation will worsen in the next few hours,” the head of the regional government, Vasco Cordeiro, told the Portuguese broadcaster SIC.
Lorenzo is expected to weaken to an extratropical storm as it moves north towards Ireland and the UK.
At a meeting of Ireland’s National Emergency Co-ordination Group, Eoghan Harris, the housing and planning minister, expressed concern over the storm’s potential impact in coastal areas and the damage from falling trees.
The orange warning for Galway, Mayo, Clare, Cork, Kerry and Limerick will be in place from 6pm on Thursday to 3am on Friday. South-westerly winds will reach mean speeds 40 to 50mph, with gusts of 60 to 80mph. A yellow rainfall warning for Ireland will be in place between 9am on Thursday and 9am on Friday.
Dan Suri, the chief meteorologist at the UK’s Met Office, said rain and heavy winds would hit western parts of the UK from Thursday, with a risk of coastal gales in Northern Ireland and western Scotland on Thursday, and Wales and south-west England on Friday.
In Ireland, a status red warning is the strongest alert, while orange is for conditions that can “impact significantly” on people in affected areas. Yellow is for conditions that do pose threats “only to those exposed to risk by nature of their location and/or activity”.
Hurricane Lorenzo broke records over the weekend after being elevated to a category 5 storm, which the National Hurricane Center in the US said was the strongest for that far north and east in the Atlantic.
Five-day forecast as of 08:00 a.m.  (1200 ) 
Today, as  hit the Azores, , the national meteorological service for Ireland, issued weather alerts as the storm approached from the west. Yellow warnings were issued nationwide, while six counties on the coast received orange warnings. The warnings apply from tomorrow night into Friday morning.

The Azores — autonomous islands of Portugal in the Atlantic Ocean — closed schools and non-essential public services. "The situation will worsen in the next few hours", said , the regional president, as the storm bore down on the Azores. Authorities expected winds of 100  (about 160 ) and high waves.

The orange warning issued by Met Éireann applied to , , , ,  and  and starts at 6 p.m. local time (1700 UTC) tomorrow. Though Lorenzo was forecast to diminish from a hurricane to a , gusts of wind were forecast to reach 60–80 mph (about 95–130 km/h). "Storm Lorenzo will produce significant swell, high waves and sizeable storm surges. This will lead to wave overtopping, some coastal flooding and damage, especially along western and southern coasts", read the warning. The warnings called for  force winds and heavy rain.

Hurricane Lorenzo reached Category 5 on the  this past Saturday, but was downgraded to Category 1 as of this morning. According to reports, Lorenzo is the largest and strongest tropical cyclone to reach this far into the northeastern Atlantic in recorded history.