THE aftermath of a major hurricane is set to hit Herefordshire later this week.

Hurricane Kirk, a category four storm, is currently in the mid-Atlantic but its remnants may bring disruptive weather to parts of the UK, including Herefordshire.

Kirk is currently producing winds of 145 miles per hour.

It remains a major hurricane over open waters, but is likely to make a turn to the north-east and could influence UK weather by the middle of the week.

(Image: Met Office) There is considerable uncertainty at this stage on details and timings, but the Met Office has included Herefordshire in a map of the parts of England and Wales likely to be hit by heavy rain and strong winds.

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What is a hurricane?

The Met Office describes a hurricane as a tropical feature requiring sea temperatures much higher than those around the UK, even in the summer. Hence, hurricanes cannot form at our latitudes.

However, we are sometimes affected by deep depressions that were originally hurricanes which have moved to higher latitudes. Such depressions are classified as 'ex-hurricanes' or 'ex-tropical cyclones' since they have changed their prime energy source from the warm ocean surface to the clash of warm tropical and cold polar air.

By the time Kirk potentially reaches waters near the UK, it will have lost its power and be known as ‘ex-hurricane Kirk’.

If the weather system reaches the criteria for naming it a storm due to its possible impacts, it would be known as Storm Kirk.