VIDEO: Hurricane Lorenzo: Storm ‘possibly strongest in 20 years’ pounds Azores

Hurricane Lorenzo has swept along the western edge of the Azores, taking down trees in it’s path with winds of up to 90mph.

Local authorities closed roads, schools and non-emergency public services yesterday (Wednesday) as the Category 1 hurricane reached the archipelago.

Hurricane Lorenzo has been described by local authorities as possibly the”strongest” in the last two decades.

“Although it shifted slightly in recent days to the west, it has affected us in a very aggressive way.” Carlos Neves, head of the Azores’ civil protection, said.

Meanwhile, the National Hurricane Centre in the US said “dangerous conditions” would continue into the week, adding that hurricane and tropical storm warnings were in place across the region.

Strong winds are now expected in Galicia has the cyclone moves on, headed towards the British Isles.

The region of Galicia in the north-west of Spain is bracing for the arrival of the remains of Hurricane Lorenzo with strong winds and rain likely to skim the tip of the Iberian Peninsula during today (Thursday) and Friday.

After hitting Azores last night, Hurricane Lorenzo is set to weaken to an extratropical storm before it moves north on its trajectory toward Ireland and the UK at the end of the week.

Dan Suri, the chief meteorologist at the UK’s Met Office, said “wet and very windy weather” would hit western parts of the UK from Thursday after bringing “the strongest winds” to western Ireland.

It comes “with a risk of coastal gales developing in Northern Ireland and western Scotland on Thursday and Wales and south-west England on Friday,” he added.

The hurricane broke records over the weekend after being elevated to a Category 5 storm, which the National Hurricane Centre in the US says is the strongest for that far north and east in the Atlantic Ocean.

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