Hurricane Ophelia: Largest hurricane ever recorded in Atlantic Ocean
Ophelia, the largest hurricane ever recorded so far east in the Atlantic Ocean, was downgraded to a storm before it hit the Irish coast.
Unprecedented storm
Dark clouds gather over the Irish Sea and Dublin on October 16, 2017, as Ireland braces for the passing of the storm Ophelia.
Schools were closed on Monday as Ireland braced for an "unprecedented storm", with authorities warning that violent winds, rain and storm surges could pose a risk to life.
(Photograph:AFP)
Hurricane Ophelia
The wreckage of a burned van where two people died trapped by flames is pictured in Chandebrito, near the town of Nigran, northwestern Spain, on October 16, 2017.
Six people have been killed in Portugal as the country was hit by a record number of forest fires, and three more have died in Spain where blazes sparked by arsonists have been fanned by strong winds from Hurricane Ophelia.
(Photograph:AFP)
Strong winds
The wreckage of a burned bus after a fire in Chandebrito, near the town of Nigran, northwestern Spain, on October 16, 2017.
Six people have been killed in Portugal as the country was hit by a record number of forest fires, and three more have died in Spain where blazes sparked by arsonists have been fanned by strong winds from Hurricane Ophelia.
(Photograph:AFP)
NASA Earth Observatory
This handout satellite image captured on October 13, 2017, by the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the Suomi NPP and released by NASA Earth Observatory on October 15, 2017, shows hurricane Ophelia approaching the Azores islands in the Atlantic Ocean.
Hurricane Ophelia strengthened to a Category 3 storm as it passed near the Portuguese Azores archipelago on October 14 on a route for Ireland. Five counties in the west of Ireland will be placed on red alert for "severe" weather conditions from October 16 morning to early October 17, the Irish Meteorological Service said.
(Photograph:AFP)