A trio of storms in the tropics threatens to aim a wrecking ball at Britain’s calm start to autumn.
After weeks of little activity around the equatorial Atlantic, simmering waters hint at spawning a barrage of frenzied cyclones.
The first to emerge, monstrous category-4 Hurricane Gabrielle, will weaken before dragging its thrashing corpse towards Europe
Meteorologists will be closely watching how Gabrielle could impact Britain’s weather this weekend.
Hot on its heels are another two potential tropical storms – ‘disturbance 1’ and ‘disturbance 2’ – which could follow Gabrielle’s lead.
While nothing yet suggests the duo will approach Europe, experts warn they could herald a changeable spell of weather.
Jim Dale, meteorologist for British Weather Services, said: “Gabrielle is likely to be followed as the Atlantic finally wakes after an unusually quiet period.
“After Gabrielle, there may well be another one, and that will stir things up as we go through October.
“We are probably going to start to see more activity in the Atlantic, in terms of tropical storms and hurricanes, and this could, in the next few weeks, bring the first named storm of the year to the UK.”
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
One WX Charts map prediction shows Gabrielle skimming the south of the UK and hitting southern Europe
|WX CHARTS
Gabrielle is expected to sweep across the Atlantic through the coming days and hit the Azores Islands off the coast of Portugal.
Unusually, she will remain intact as a completely formed hurricane, sustained by tropical waters off southern Europe.
A spokesman for the US National Hurricane Centre (NOAA) said: “Gabrielle is forecast to approach the Azores late on Thursday as a hurricane.
“A Hurricane Watch remains in effect for all of the islands of the Azores, and interests there should closely monitor Gabrielle's progress as hurricane conditions are possible later this week.”
NOAA weather map shows two potential storms and impact zones following Gabrielle in the Atlantic
|NOAA
While hurricanes never directly affect the UK, energy mixed with their dying embers can jolt our weather.
When they skim the coasts, they can draw in warm air, while a more direct hit can trigger storms.
This happens either when the remains of the hurricane arrive partially intact as a weakened storm, or when they join forces with a separate low-pressure system already in place.
Experts are debating how ex-Gabrielle will hit the UK this weekend, although they agree on a change in weather.
Met Office meteorologist Honor Criswick said: “There is a lot of uncertainty that is thanks to an area of low pressure that is currently Hurricane Gabrielle, and it is probably going to track across the Bay of Biscay and could even be classed as a hurricane as it moves across the Azores.
“It is still tricky to forecast as the track of Gabrielle may change, but as this system is linked to a front moving across, and that means some areas in the west could see some more persistent downpours during Saturday.
“But if that system pushes eastwards, then eastern areas could pick up some rain.
“We are likely to see a slight change at the weekend.”