Hurricane Bertha threatens to ruin British summer

The tropical storm began heading north and then east after gaining momentum in the Bahamas yesterday

Two women walk with the protection of an umbrella in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. Bertha pushed just south of Puerto Rico on Saturday as it unleashed heavy rains and strong winds across the region (AP)

Strong winds, torrential rains and large waves next weekend could put the brakes on the recent glorious weather experienced in the UK, thanks to a hurricane making its way over from the Caribbean.

Hurricane Bertha began heading north and then east after gaining momentum in the Bahamas yesterday.

According to the National Hurricane Centre in the US, it is expected to grow in size before becoming a post-tropical cyclone with winds of up to 73mph, reaching Ireland on Saturday night.

The Met Office has said, however, that its definite course is still unknown – hypotheses include Bertha heading towards France “as a weak feature which will completely miss the UK, to its arriving as a fairly active summer storm.”

In a blog post on its website, the Met Office continued: “In terms of timing, there’s also a spread of possibilities – but it looks likely that the earliest Bertha would affect the UK would be on Sunday or into the start of next week.”