Hurricane Lorenzo has intensified into a category 5 hurricane – on Saturday night- and now poses a danger to the Azores this weekend. The Lorenzo deepened further on Saturday from a category 3 storm -maximum sustained winds of 115 mph – into a category 5 storm -winds of 160 mph.

Lorenzo is the strongest hurricane recorded in the Atlantic basin – according to National Hurricane Center. According to the track given by hurricane center’s forecast, Lorenzo can pass over or near the Azores in the next few days.

As its impact, strong winds are likely Tuesday night and Wednesday.

“Gradual weakening is expected over the next couple of days, but Lorenzo is expected to remain a large hurricane throughout that time,” the center said.

On Sunday, Lorenzo was 1,260 miles away at west–southwest of the Azores with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph Sunday evening, according to the NHC update.

How much rain can Lorenzo give

“Lorenzo is expected to produce total rain accumulations of 3 to 6 inches over much of the western Azores and 1 to 2 inches over the central Azores on Tuesday and Wednesday. This rainfall could cause life-threatening flash flooding in the western Azores,” the center said.

On the other hand, some models are showing storm veering off to the northwest, later in the week. As a result, Ireland may see some strong winds from the storm.

“Ophelia did the same thing and impacted the region in 2017, bringing with it very strong winds,” CNN meteorologist Haley Brink said.

“It would be a rare event for the UK to have a wind storm from a system that had been a hurricane,” Brink said.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) warned that Lorenzo’s wind field is large, and it may impact the group of Portuguese islands about 900 miles west of Portugal. Moreover, heavy rain from Lorenzo can lead to life-threatening flash flooding in the Azores late Tuesday into Wednesday.