STRONG gusts of winds are expected to hit North Wales when the remnants of Hurricane Ophelia hits the UK. 

By the time Ophelia reaches North Wales, Met Office forecasters have said “she will be weakening” and will be an ex-hurricane. 

However, the hurricane is set to have an impact and the Met Office has issued an Amber warning of wind for Wales, which will be in force from 12pm on Monday until 11pm. 

A statement on the Met Office reads: “A spell of very windy weather is expected today in association with ex-Ophelia. 

“Longer journey times and cancellations are likely, as road, rail, air and ferry services may be affected as well as some bridge closures. There is a good chance that power cuts may occur, with the potential to affect other services, such as mobile phone coverage.

"Flying debris is likely, such as tiles blown from roofs, as well as large waves around coastal districts with beach material being thrown onto coastal roads, sea fronts and properties. This leads to the potential for injuries and danger to life. This warning has been updated to extend it into parts of North and West Wales and into the extreme southwest of Scotland.

”The start time has been brought forward to 12pm to cater for Southwest Wales but the impacts elsewhere are more likely later in the afternoon and into this evening.”

Hurricane Ophelia, which developed southwest of the Azores, had reached Category three status.

A spokesperson from the Met Office added: “When it [Ophelia] turns North-East across the North Atlantic, Ophelia will lose energy as she passes over cooler waters.

”Before reaching the British Isles the system will lose its tropical characteristics and will no longer be classified as a hurricane. However, it will still have sufficient energy to produce impacts, such as very strong winds and heavy seas, leading to dangerous conditions in exposed locations.”

Ireland is expected to be worst hit by the remnants of Ophelia.

A spokesperson for SP Energy Networks, the electricity distributor in North Wales, Shropshire, Cheshire and Merseyside. said: “Even though power cuts are rare events for most people, during times of extreme weather they become more likely, making it important for everybody to be prepared for a power cut.

"We have a team of engineers on hand 24/7 who will come out to your area to fix any power outages, but the sooner we know about it the better. You can report any power outages to us by calling the emergency hotline 105 or 0800 001 5400.”