Hurricane Ophelia is sweeping across the Atlantic and could bring temperatures of up to 21C - and winds of up to 80mph to Cumbria.

Ahead of its arrival the Met Office has issued a 30-hour yellow weather warning of wind, covering the county, which is in place from midday on tomorrow until 6pm on Tuesday.

The cyclone - which started off as a category three but which will be an ex-hurricane by the time it reaches UK mainland - has taken an unusual north western path.

So what do we need to know? We spoke to Grahame Madge, a Met Office spokesman, about Ophelia.

When will it arrive?

"We are expecting the arrival - the centre of the low pressure - to be level with south west Ireland by 9am on Monday.

"The system will track north east into Scotland by Tuesday."

The storm will still be in UK water by early on Tuesday and by lunchtime on Tuesday it could still feel breezy, though the winds will be calming down.

What conditions can we expect in Cumbria?

"The yellow warning is for wind impacts across western and northern Britain including most of northern England.

"Generally within the yellow warning we are expecting wind speeds of between 55mph and 65mph.

"But isolated gusts of up to 80mph in coastal areas would be expected in some locations.

"It is encouraging warm air up from Spain and Portugal.

"We are looking at highs of 16C or 17C today, that's going to depend on breaks of sunshine.

"Tomorrow in Carlisle there could be highs of 19C possible upto 21C."

Temperatures could potentially be 8 degrees higher than the average maximum temperature for October in northern England, which is 13C.

"There will be rain but the levels of rain are sub-warning level at the moment.

"It is the winds that will provide major impact.

"There will be some rain this afternoon, especially ahead of the system and it will be intermittent overnight."

What kind of disruption could it cause?

The warning says road, rail, air and ferry services may be affected. Power cuts, it said, may occur, with the potential to affect other services, such as mobile phone coverage.

"Some damage to buildings, such as tiles blown from roofs could happen, perhaps leading to injuries and danger to life from flying debris," states the warning.

"Coastal routes, sea fronts and coastal communities may be affected by spray and large waves. The warning has been updated to delay the onset time of the strong winds and increase the likelihood of the event occurring."

How is this different to other hurricanes and storms we've seen in the past?

"It's known as ex-Ophelia. That is why it hasn't got a name. If it originated out of the north Atlantic as a normal system this would have been Brian.

"What is slightly unusual about this system is that when hurricanes come into the north Atlantic, which isn't that unusual - it's happened several times this hurricane season already - is normally they wrap themselves around other weather systems, and as they disperse their influence is still there but across a wider area.

"With Ophelia, its taken a very unusual track in that it's just headed north and has remained as a discreet system. It hasn't really interacted with other weather systems. It has kept its own identity.

"Normally they head west and then by the time they get to the Caribbean or the States they turn and track back into the north Atlantic, whereas this one has just taken a very unusual track.

"Not exceptional but very unusual."