Trick or treating is on as Hurricane Melissa set to miss Ireland

Ottoline Spearman

Hurricane Melissa is set to miss Ireland as it moves across the Atlantic over the next few days.

As of Wednesday evening, the hurricane is still passing over the Caribbean and will soon start to move across the Atlantic towards Iceland.

By Monday, its force will be significantly weakened, according to Met Éireann, and it will transform into an extratropical cyclone - which Met Éireann described as a "typical low-pressure cyclone".

While there are weather warnings in place for six counties in the Republic of Ireland and six counties in Northern Ireland for Thursday, this is not due to Hurricane Melissa.

The forecast for Halloween on Friday is "typical unsettled October weather" according to Met Éireann, with spells of rain across the country.

However, short breaks in the rain mean that "for once, there is a bit of an opportunity for people to get out trick or treating".

Strong gusts of wind will be felt in from Valentia to Erris Head to Malin Head on Friday, where southerly winds will reach gale force 8 or strong gale force 9.