Britain is set to be battered by strong winds and rain from a tropical storm that could carry smoke from the Canadian and California wildfires.

Forecasters said the smell of the fires and small amounts of soot might be detectable when Storm Ernesto hit the UK on Saturday evening.

Ireland and the North will see the worst of the bad weather, but the storm will have cleared by midday on Sunday.

The smoke from the western North America #wildfires is moving eastward across the Atlantic Ocean, captured here by our #GOESEast satellite. More imagery: https://t.co/P1F11zXUHI pic.twitter.com/HsJh25vbvY — NOAA Satellites (@NOAASatellites) August 14, 2018

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The US National Hurricane Centre reported that Ernesto had winds of 45mph as it blew in over the Azores on Friday.


It was expected to become a post-tropical cyclone as it nears the British Isles.

The North West, Scotland, North Wales and Northern Ireland will feel the blustery effects of the storm and western Ireland will see thicker cloud and stronger winds with persistent rain.

Sky News weather forecaster Chris England said: "Ernesto will mainly affect Ireland and the north and it should be gone by about midday on Sunday. It will bring windy and wet conditions."

The weather for the rest of the country will bring a mix of sunny intervals and cloud but it should stay warm with temperatures reaching 25C or 26C (77F or 78.8F) on Saturday and Sunday, although high humidity will make it feel warmer.