Met Eireann have issued a weather advisory for all of Ireland as Hurricane Lorenzo heads towards the country.
The strongest ever hurricane this side of the Atlantic Ocean continues to hurtle towards Ireland.
It's currently making its way northeast of the Atlantic and is posing a threat to the Azores region - where a hurricane warning is in place.
Lorenzo has lost some of its power, but winds of up to 170km/h could still batter Azores when it reaches the islands on Tuesday night.
Although it is expected to lose its hurricane status, the storm may cause "severe weather" with strong winds and high seas.
And although a warning has not yet been issued, forecasters have released a "weather advisory" for the storm.
The alert reads: "There it a high probability that Storm Lorenzo will track close to or over Ireland later on Thursday and early Friday, giving high seas, severe winds and heavy rain. Warnings will be issued Wednesday morning."
What is a weather advisory?
Met Eireann say that an advisory is issued to provide early information about potentially hazardous weather that is making its way towards Ireland.
A spokesman said: "Advisories may also be employed when a sum of weather elements acting together create a significant hazard, e.g. winds which may not be up to warnings strength but which, when combined with high tides and significant swell, generate a risk of flooding.
"Another possible use would be to advise of wind speed and direction on occasions of Volcanic Ash contamination. They might also be used to advise of expected significant medium-term accumulations of rain during a very unsettled period when soils are known to be saturated.
"The issue of Weather Warnings and Weather Advisories is at all times down to the judgement of the Met Éireann forecasters."
