Weakened hurricane Leslie targets Portugal, Spain after UK lashed by storm

Portugal's weather service issued red warnings even for it's capital Lisbon. Photo / 123RF

Hurricane Leslie weakened slightly into a post-tropical cyclone as it closed in on Portugal and Spain, bringing heavy rain, high winds and dangerous surf to western parts of the Iberian Peninsula.

Portugal's weather service issued red warnings - its highest level - for high winds or dangerous coastal conditions for 13 of its 18 mainland districts, including Lisbon, the capital. Forecasters said sections of Portugal would see near hurricane-force winds, while parts of western Spain could be hit with tropical-force winds.

Maximum sustained winds in the former Category 1 hurricane decreased to 110km/h as the storm neared Portugal's west coast, the US National Hurricane Centre in Miami said. Tropical force winds were felt up to 260km from its centre.

Luis Belo Costa of Portugal's National Protection Agency recommended that people "avoid at all costs walking on the street".

A tropical storm warning was discontinued for the Madeira archipelago.

But Leslie was still expected to generate ocean swells that would affect Madeira, the Azores and the Canary Islands, in addition to the Atlantic coasts of Spain, Portugal and Morocco. Forecasters said the swells were likely to bring "life-threatening surf and rip current conditions."

Leslie is a bit of a weather outlier, since hurricanes rarely bring their destructive force across to Europe.

Meanwhile, thousands of homes have been without power, roads shut and trains cancelled, as the UK continues to be battered by heavy downpours from Storm Callum.

The River Usk in south Wales burst its banks to block off one road and the main A40 was also cut off by storms.

Footage on the BBC showed strong winds reversing a waterfall on the Isle of Skye.

Rail services were plagued by delays, with severe weather affecting services between Preston and Scotland, across Wales, and in South West England. Strong winds have seen speed restrictions imposed on many routes.

Flooding and falling trees have seen major disruption across most rail services in Wales, while trains in Devon and Cornwall are also likely to be delayed. An amber warning for rain remains in place for parts of south Wales, with further flooding and power cuts likely.

- additional reporting AP